I have met women who said, 'I started reading you when I sat in the chemo chair, and it made me feel better.' That is as humbling as it gets, to know that you, in some way, made the worst day of their life a little bit better.

The world needs voices that are positive and grateful, and that can be me.

Without fail, the first question I am asked at any author event is, 'Are your books based on your real life?'

Over the years, I have come to realize that no matter how satisfying fiction is, it becomes that much better when it actually happened.

Venting your anger on anyone - especially complete strangers - is not a winning tactic. Be especially sweet to bartenders and people serving you food.

I can cook a good soup from scratch, this is true, and I do know how to drive a stick shift.

I have no skills! I can't speak French, I can't ski, I can't play the guitar... I can barely log on to the Internet! All I know how to do is write novels (thank goodness) and run, and anyone who has seen me run knows I'm not very good at that, either.

Americans are really in love with their summertime.

The nice thing about e-books is that if you're sitting on the beach and you finish one Elin Hilderbrand novel and don't want to get out of your chair, you can sit there, buy the rest, and load them on your device.

I may not want to write every day, but I have no choice - there are deadlines to meet.