If you do nothing unexpected, nothing unexpected happens.

Before Fay Weldon wrote the 1983 novel “The Life and Loves of a She-Devil,” and long before it was made into a Hollywood feature film starring Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr in 1989, the budding writer struggled to make ends meet. She wrote advertising copy in the 1950s, then progressed to stage plays in the 1960s, but it was her work as a novelist that would propel her to fame. Her books, of which she has written dozens, surprised and entertained readers with bold, feminist themes and insights such as this encouraging quote about pushing outside your comfort zone. In 2017, at the age of 85, Weldon finally published the long-awaited sequel to “The Life and Loves of a She-Devil.” It was her 45th novel.