Most of all I don't want to be bored. That's why I'd rather do something that has some sort of ambition, that risks failing, rather than make safer, more comfortable choices.

The tabloids operate in an amoral parallel universe where the bottom line is selling newspapers.

I happen to have a public profile. Ditto newspaper editors. It's a result of what I do, not an end.

I'm an entertainer. I don't go round saying I'm a paragon of virtue, so that is clearly not in the public interest.

I'm afraid that the act of writing is so scary and anxiety-filled that I never laugh at all. In fact, when people tell me that such and such a scene or story is comical, I tend to gape. I did not intend comedy - ever, as far as I know. It's probably all a mistake. I am essentially a lugubrious writer. Ha ha!

Gentle dullness ever loves a joke.

Courtney Love is so famous among journalists for her loquaciousness that the joke is that you don't have to worry about questions when you interview her - just be sure you have lots of tape.

A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.