Susan Isaacs

“There are days where I lose track of time, of place, of everything else, because I've been transported to another universe.”

“There is no 'right' way to begin a novel, but for me, plot has to wait. The character comes first.”

“I can only write about two or three pages of fiction a day.”

“I see myself as writing biographies, the complete story of someone's life.”

“Being a novelist is the adult version of a kid creating a make-believe world. But unlike a child, a writer of fiction has to come up with a structured story, one that has as much meaning for others as it has for her.”

“I am married to a happy camper. He's a criminal lawyer who thinks people are inherently good and will befriend him. His father, at 93, is the same way.”

“As soon as someone is coming from New York, I automatically think I have to get dressed up.”

“Style is not my long suit, but I'm really fascinated by it.”

“Our culture is so celebrity-obsessed that for individuals to show they matter, they need to display their intimacy to fame.”

“I never failed at anything in fiction.”

“It's not all 'Jane Eyre' out there. In her sweet, honorable, slightly passive-aggressive way, Jane was as perfect as a protagonist can get while remaining interesting; in fact, she's one of my favorites. But most characters are more morally ambiguous.”

“Everyone has early fiction fantasies, but it wasn't until my second child Betsy was born that I allowed the urge to write a novel bubble up.”

“I have such admiration for Whoopi Goldberg as an actress and a general smart person.”

“I was always the weirdo who wanted to have an egalitarian service in synagogue and felt I was always going against the grain.”

“Just as you can accept Miss Marple going to tea with the vicar, there's no reason why Long Island can't have a universality to it.”

“At the beginning, I really wanted to be home with my kid. I was a product of my generation. But in the suburbs, you are very isolated, really alone.”

“I love being a grandparent. I'm one of those you want to avoid - I pull out the iPhone and say, 'Hey, wanna see my camera roll?'”

“Whether you're an obstetrician or a third-grade teacher or a real estate agent, you know when you're doing good work. You're passionate about it.”

“With my middle-class metabolism, the suburbs were where I always wanted to be.”

“As for writing novels - it's what I've done for 30 some-odd years. I can't suddenly say I'm going to take up golf. I need something in my life. As long as I can write a coherent sentence, I'll keep at it.”