Terry McMillan, Thwarter of Book Biz Gatekeepers, Has a New Novel

McMillan personifies the idea encapsulated in the title of her new book. On the phone from her home in California, she is funny and charming. She's also wise enough to know that though she knows a lot, she can't afford to stop learning. Maybe this is due, in some small part, to her beginnings as an author. After initially struggling to find an audience, she became a household name. That feat is thanks largely to her fourth novel, 1992's Waiting to Exhale. The book spent months on bestseller lists, and, according to McMillan's agent, Molly Friedrich at the Friedrich Agency, her books have sold, in total, roughly 15 million copies worldwide.