Jay McInerney

Publishers send me a lot of first novels because my first novel was the defining novel of my career, and I guess a lot of people want my benediction or something.

I don't think I found my voice until I reached New York. I suppose it's possible I would have had some kind of different literary career if I had not discovered New York.

I envy those writers who outline their novels, who know where they're going. But I find writing is a process of discovery.

Anybody who becomes a movie star becomes successful at projecting a certain image to the public.

When you catch yourself lying to your therapist, you know it's a waste of money.

If being a spokesman for a generation is a fleeting occupation, being a symbol of an era is downright dangerous for anyone who has the bad luck to outlive it.

There aren't many shy writers left.

I always hope people will like me, and I'm always afraid they will think I'm a fraud. I try harder than perhaps I should to make people like me, then it backfires. They think I'm a buffoon.

I don't think I've left a trail of weeping women in my wake. I mean, the number of serious relationships I've had has not been into double digits.

Love is the eternal quest: almost everyone wants to love and be loved.

My former wife is a very eccentric woman, which is why I still love her.

I love to imagine inside the head of a woman.