SM: Having your own column is a dream for many writers. How did you feel when you began your "Sex and the City" column for The New York Observer?
Candace Bushnell: That was a big moment. Before that I had really been struggling. At that point I was in my early 30s, everybody else was making $50,000 or $60,000, and I was making much less. I remember one year when I made $10,000 - that was really bad. I do think that most people probably would have given up. 

SM: What made you continue?  What made you see your dream through?
Candace Bushnell:  Right before I got the column was a very frightening time and I didn't know if I was going to make it. I actually had a boyfriend who moved to a different country and I suppose I could have moved with him. I remember thinking that if I moved with him, I would never be a writer, I would never write a novel and I just wasn't willing to give up that dream. I just had so much passion for it.

SM: What for you is the most rewarding part of being a writer?
Candace Bushnell:  The most rewarding part is actually doing it. It is something that I love and I get a high from doing it.

SM: When you're writing a novel, how many hours do you write a day? A week?
Candace Bushnell: I usually try to write about 40 pages a week, or maybe more. I try to write 10 pages a day. I'll usually write for four to six days straight, and then maybe take a day off. I do find it hard to write for more than seven or eight days straight. 

SM: How do you stay focused and driven in a career that offers so much autonomy?
Candace Bushnell: It is something you have to do on your own, so it takes a huge amount of discipline. You may not be in an office, but you have to mentally chain yourself to the desk. You have to be a self-starter. For 10 years, I didn't own a TV because my TV was stolen and I couldn't afford another one, but it helped me focus.