Susan Isaacs Quotations

I like to show ordinary people reacting to extraordinary circumstances. It's an opportunity for adventure, and I like women to have adventures. There's been far too little of it with women.

I hate when people say, 'Oh, they laughed all the way to the bank.' That's nonsense because the most cynical, unhappy people are Hollywood screenwriters. They earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for work that's never made.

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.

For a novelist, no matter what, it's a complete work, even if it's not published. But if you write a screenplay, and it's not performed, then it's a sad and frustrating experience.

Could there be a cowgirl in my future? You know, I never know what character is going to come and tap me on the shoulder and say, 'Hey, tell my story.' So maybe the next one will have boots.

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.

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.

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

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

There are so many different worlds in Long Island. That's why it's so fascinating. Between Great Neck and Montauk, there are 10,000 worlds.