Lisa Scottoline

“If it weren't for book tours, I would never leave my house.”

“I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe as a city, but that just makes us try harder, and I love our scrappiness and scruffiness.”

“I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we're Philly.”

“Even if it's not what you planned, you can make a life for yourself on your own and be happy.”

“I still think I'm writing Nancy Drew with a mortgage.”

“I learned that protecting someone by keeping him away from me doesn't shelter either of us. I learned that feeling other people's feelings for them doesn't bring us closer, it only separates me from myself and my needs. I always thought being codependent meant being too emotionally glued to someone; I didn't realize the way I was doing it was setting me adrift.”

“The truth is that every writer, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, is trying to write something truly original and that's what I think I'm doing.”

“I love my job, and I love books. I read anything, including cereal boxes. I care deeply about what people think of my books, and I memorize my reviews. I love to hear from my readers.”

“I get up around 8 o'clock, which gives me enough time to walk dogs and feed chickens and horses. Then I get to work in my home office upstairs, and basically, I don't stop until I've written 2,000 words and/or the Stephen Colbert show is over.”

“And when I look at my mother, I reflect on her strength and endurance. She's cranky sometimes, but she is lovable and loving. I'd be happy to be there at 86.”

“I am really, I think, truly an easygoing, positive, fun person.”

“I love writing both fiction and memoir. Both have unique challenges; bottom line, fiction is hard because you have to come up with the credible, twisty plot, and memoir is hard because you have to say something true and profound, albeit in a funny way.”

“If you can't be brave, be determined. And you'll end up in the same place.”

“I am an open book, literally. I don't mind if people know way too much about me.”

“And wouldn't we be better off if every New Year's, we thought about the things we did right and we resolved to keep doing them, no matter how wacky they were.”

“You can really help support a character if you understand the setting. So for that reason I generally write about Philadelphia.”

“It's the Snickers bars. Snickers equal romance.”

“My animals are a really important part of my life.”

“Truth is, every writer has to be a good editor, and you have to edit yourself. It's a skill every writer has to acquire.”

“But the fact is, I'm not work-identified. I'm not a lawyer or a writer. I'm a mom, and I'm a woman, and that's the kind of people I want to see in books in the starring role.”