I was a coat-checker at Orso, and all these wonderful actors were coming in, and it was exciting to me, so I started going to classes, and my excuse was, 'I'll be a better songwriter if I can understand how to play a character.' Well, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

We're all struggling to get out of the past. We see something that reminds us of something, and then we bring our baggage into the present. Then we project it onto people constantly.

It isn't hard to be an artist and do your money thing. It's much harder to wake up in the middle of the night knowing that you're being ripped off and starting to get this feeling in your stomach almost bordering on bitterness toward people who are saying one thing and doing another.

Betchya Got A Cure' is my gut response to the media wars in this country, which are driving a wedge between citizens. It's about taking a stand for individuality and being brave instead of being accepted.

Stacey Napp understands the ugly side of divorce - which is often the side that involves money. In fact, she understands it so well that in 2008 she started a business, Balance Point Divorce Funding, which invests in divorce and probate litigation, helping clients cover costs in exchange for a share of the winnings.

Jeff Bezos was one of those best and brightest who came to N.Y. to work in finance. He didn't need to know anything about retail bookselling to start Amazon.

As readers, we sense when the game is being played for real and when something else is afoot: pride, showmanship, the pursuit of power, self-aggrandizement, revenge, making money. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but I dislike closing a book with the sense that I've been had.

I'm very choosy when it comes to work. It's not like whatever comes my way, I will agree to do it. But if I'm getting good money and exposure and if the content is satisfying, what's the harm in doing it, even if it's yet another reality show?