You write a book and you finish the book. That's your job done, right? You win the Booker and you have a whole new job. You have to be the thing, right? So instead of writing the story, you somehow are the story. And that I found that sort of terrible.

To be able to have the space to sit down and write has always been my central policy.

Ireland is a series of stories that have been told to us, starting with the Irish Celtic national revival. I never believed in 'Old Ireland.' It has been made all of kitsch by the diaspora, looking back and deciding what Ireland is. Yes, it is green. Yes, it is friendly. I can't think of anything else for definite.

For 10 or 11 years, I had my kids, I wrote four or five books, and I was working all the damn time.

When I knew I wanted to write a novel that would be a twist on a conventional romantic comedy, I re-watched 'When Harry Met Sally,' as well as the other two films in the indomitable Ephron trifecta - 'Sleepless in Seattle' and 'You've Got Mail.'

A lot of things have hurt me about the industry. I don't want to be very vocal about this but it's an everyday fight with Bollywood. It's like a love hate relationship.

I'm a tooth person... I like quirky teeth. My husband has little teeth with spaces in between them. He hates them and I love them. I like people with buckteeth, and I like it when they crinkle a bit. It's very charming.

Tell the truth. Sing with passion. Work with laughter. Love with heart. 'Cause that's all that matters in the end.