In real love you want the other person’s good. In romantic love you want the other person.

The first book I wrote was The Bride Price which was a romantic book, but my husband burnt the book when he saw it. I was the typical African woman, I’d done this privately, I wanted him to look at it, approve it and he said he wouldn’t read it.

The thing about romance and romantic movies is that they can be somewhat melodramatic. For a lot of actors, there’s a certain cringe factor that’s involved with that.

The most aggressive artists often hide their romantic side.

The Southern whites are in many respects a great people. Looked at from a certain point of view, they are picturesque. If one will put oneself in a romantic frame of mind, one can admire their notions of chivalry and bravery and justice.

At the risk of sounding hopelessly romantic, love is the key element. I really love to play with different musicians who come from different cultural backgrounds.

The whole westward expansion myth is seen as romantic. But it’s a joke, a blot on American history.