You know I've always thought that it would be really funny if somebody made a romantic comedy where absolutely everything went well from beginning to end.

It's funny I can sit through the worst horror film ever made but even a quite good romantic comedy can drive me nuts.

A romantic comedy has to be funny and make you think about life but the obstacle that has to be overcome is key.

I think romance is friendship and attraction sort of meeting together and that does influence what I'm writing a lot. I try to establish the attraction obviously but I also think it's important to show the characters having actual conversations about things other than their feelings for each other - and to develop their friendship on the page.

I think it's important to have closure in any relationship that ends - from a romantic relationship to a friendship. You should always have a sense of clarity at the end and know why it began and why it ended. You need that in your life to move cleanly into your next phase.

The old Romans all wished to have a king over them because they had not yet tasted the sweetness of freedom.

I will never forget experiencing Venice for the first time. It feels like you are transported to another time - the art music food and pure romance in the air is like no other place.

If you go back to the Greeks and Romans they talk about all three - wine food and art - as a way of enhancing life.

There's nothing more romantic than Italian food.

We tend to connect bad food and bad habits with romance and sex.