We think of the revolution ending in Yorktown, Va. The fact of the matter is that the French defeated the British in a naval battle right in the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Because the British fleet was coming to rescue Cornwallis, the British general, Washington was able to surround Cornwallis.

To my mind, an adventure is something a person willingly undertakes.

One of the questions I face when working on a book about a historical event is whether I should visit the actual place that I'm writing about. No matter how scrupulously maintained a historic house or battlefield may be, it is nothing like it was in the long-ago past.

Unfortunately, we have a tendency to see figures from the past as caricatures - either all good or all bad - when the truth is always much more complex.

I mean, artistic processes are all about making choices all the time, and the very act of making a choice is the distilling down and the getting to the core of what it is that you care about and what you want to say, really.

The more you create authentic power, the more the characteristics of authentic power become yours, and the more meaning, purpose and joy enter your life.

I think I would want to be a therapist or sociologist. I love talking to people about their relationships and life problems, understanding where it comes from, and giving insight that's helpful. Also, it would be fun to just marry rich and vacation a lot. That's my real second choice.

I feel like a lot of people have a hard time finding what they do, or they have a job or career and not a passion. That's miserable for me. Just find your purpose; understand that you have one life to live.