SM: Is writing a career that's conducive to having it all?
Candace Bushnell: There are women who do it. On the other hand, there are a lot of women writers who never get married and don't have kids. I am married, but I didn't marry until I was 43. I knew when I was young that if I had to make a choice between being married and being a writer, I would have chosen to be a writer. I think it's a career where you have to put the career first. I don't have kids but - and luckily everyone isn't like this - I think if you have that passion, in a way, your career is your child. 

SM: Any time you put your work out to the public, you subject yourself to criticism. What advice do you have for writers in regards to dealing with criticism?
Candace Bushnell: Dealing with criticism is just one of the realities of the business. There are always people out there, who love you, and there are people out there who don't like you for whatever reason and they willfully misinterpret your work. There really isn't much you can do about [criticism]. If you're not really cut out for the business, you will crumble. 

SM: Have you ever feared failure?
Candace Bushnell: Failure is scary, but success is probably more frightening. I have found that a lot of people think they want to be successful, but there's a part of them psychologically afraid of success because success is change. Are my friends still going to like me? Am I going to turn into a bitch that bosses everyone around? Am I going to be lonely? And I think for women there's also this fear: If I become successful, men aren't going to be interested. The reality is that in relationships, men usually find your ambition kind of adorable in the beginning. But when they find out that it's real, it's disturbing [to them]. That was something I found that happened to me a lot in relationships. Even when I dated very successful men, when you scratched the surface, I was probably a lot more ambitious than they were. Of course now all I want to do is sit around and watch Dr. Phil [she laughs].