The best romance writers know there's nothing that builds conflict or makes a gentleman of a rogue more quickly than responsibility.

No matter how troubled a character's history, romance novels tell us, love can be built upon it, and happily-ever-after can result. What's more, the darker the past, the brighter the future - and the better the read.

I think back on that day when 16-year-old me scribbled on some silly piece of paper for some long-forgotten high school career-day project that my dream job was 'romance novelist.'

The trick to great romance is in overcoming adversity. In realizing that love is worth some uphill climbs.

These women were taking over these former manufacturing warehouses in SoHo and figuring out a way to be fashionable and viable without money. It's hard to imagine a life like that in Manhattan now - there's something romantic about it.

Before I had my child, I thought I knew all the boundaries of myself, that I understood the limits of my heart. It's extraordinary to have all those limits thrown out, to realize your love is inexhaustible.

People need to know their marriage is worth fighting for.

Every week, there's a different equivalent of Charlie Sheen having a breakdown. I knew about Kim Kardashian getting married - and then getting divorced - and there's no reason I should. I don't have hostility toward Kim Kardashian - just toward the people who take that stuff seriously.