One gains a double benefit in writing about the past, conjuring up how things might have been, and at the same time acquiring a different perspective on the present.

My literary career was a fluke. Utterly unexpected.

I was a political journalist; I came to writing novels through an interest in politics and power.

The financial markets tend to be just a backdrop for a novel, for a heist or something that isn't necessarily integral to it. On the whole, I don't think the financial world has been well served by novels.

Real joy seems to me almost as unlike security or prosperity as it is unlike agony.

As much as you love a sport, I don't think love and joy necessarily go hand in hand. I think you can still be in love with the sport but just not happy in it.

Happiness is not that easy to achieve, but having a handsome husband, a beautiful baby, and a great job helps.

I find that the older I get, the more I see that there really aren't huge zeniths of happiness or a huge abyss of darkness as much as there used to be.