To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.

In the old days, travel writers were given freebies and then supposed to write something nice.

A writer has to have an imagination- that's what makes a writer. She has to be able to put herself imaginatively in the position of whatever character she selects.

There is something fascinatingly awkward about an author photo. I'm drawn to those glossy shots in the back of books, mostly because the subjects never look happy to be there.

Yes, I felt very small. The typewriter seemed larger than a piano, I was less than a molecule. What could I do? I drank more.
-pg 237

I do not love men: I love what devours them.