My sister Arlene, who is 75 and on marriage number seven. I admire her hopefulness.

My dear friend Eve Plotkin, supervising attorney at the N.Y. Legal Aid Society, head of the Family Law Unit for 25 years.

The Queen, because she's kept hats alive in the imagination of people all over the world.

My mum, for putting up with me all my life.

As I got up in my 70s, stories began coming to me more and more rarely. I finished the novel Lavinia at 78. I no longer have the stamina to undertake a new novel, even if I wanted to. So, here I am, an old writer who loves writing – what have I got left to do?

Anyhow, I think when you have a novel to write again, it will begin visiting you, whispering, “Write me.” Till then, no jumper cable, not even a lightning bolt, can bring it into being.

Sometimes it just seems like the more women tell the truth, the less men want to hear it.

As many times as necessary. With one story or novel, this may be five false starts and six or eight or ten full rewrites, beginning to end. With the next, it may mean just going back through it and over it fiddling details until I think it’s as good as I can get it.

And as time went on, I began to disagree with some of the things I said in the first book. Or I wanted to work out some things better.

The book is done when you say it’s done. It’s entirely up to you. It’s your responsibility.