Quotes from Lisa Scottoline

don't argue what you don't believe in. Rule number one, in law and in life.

My animals are a really important part of my life.

Any middle-aged woman knows that our feet are not for the faint of heart, especially in midwinter. I wear clogs, so it's actually like my feet are wooden now.

Even people who counted their blessings never counted them in the morning. For one thing, there wasn't time.

I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we're Philly.

If it weren't for book tours, I would never leave my house.

Truth is, every writer has to be a good editor, and you have to edit yourself. It's a skill every writer has to acquire.

I love my job, and I love books. I read anything, including cereal boxes. I care deeply about what people think of my books, and I memorize my reviews. I love to hear from my readers.

You don't have to be dead to write a classic, and you don't have to be literary to be smart.

The truth is that every writer, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, is trying to write something truly original and that's what I think I'm doing.

I still think I'm writing Nancy Drew with a mortgage.

What I'm doing is writing stories about women who care about justice. They are women who think about the difference between right and wrong, what's legal and illegal, ethical and unethical, moral and immoral.

I love writing both fiction and memoir. Both have unique challenges; bottom line, fiction is hard because you have to come up with the credible, twisty plot, and memoir is hard because you have to say something true and profound, albeit in a funny way.

Let's talk about a decision that women have to make every morning- Big purse or little purse?

Truly I never thought of myself as writing legal thrillers, and I still don't think I do. I write stories about women.

Women shouldn't iron, ever. It's our wrinkles that make us interesting.

I am an open book, literally. I don't mind if people know way too much about me.

But the fact is, I'm not work-identified. I'm not a lawyer or a writer. I'm a mom, and I'm a woman, and that's the kind of people I want to see in books in the starring role.

I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe as a city, but that just makes us try harder, and I love our scrappiness and scruffiness.

And when I look at my mother, I reflect on her strength and endurance. She's cranky sometimes, but she is lovable and loving. I'd be happy to be there at 86.

But the fact is, I'm not work-identified. I'm not a lawyer or a writer. I'm a mom, and I'm a woman, and that's the kind of people I want to see in books in the starring role.

Truly I never thought of myself as writing legal thrillers, and I still don't think I do. I write stories about women.

I am really, I think, truly an easygoing, positive, fun person.

What I'm doing is writing stories about women who care about justice. They are women who think about the difference between right and wrong, what's legal and illegal, ethical and unethical, moral and immoral.