The sky is already purple; the first few stars have appeared, suddenly, as if someone had thrown a handful of silver across the edge of the world.

In a world of sorrow, love was an act of will. All you needed were the right ingredients.

I heard a sigh, as though the books were breathing. I felt that this was where I belonged. This was where I lived.

I read everything of Ray Bradbury when I was 12 or 13, and I think that's the most effective time to read Bradbury. He built such a moral world, where you have to make decisions and grow up.

I feel more influenced in my own work by dreams than I do by other writers' works in a way. Or by popular culture, movies - what else is there to write about than love and loss?

What did you see?' he asked then. Nothing,' I told him. 'Because nothing is what you wanted me to see, though the man on the table might disagree.

I think growing up is difficult and it's a process that I'm always interested in, with kids and adults, they are often on two different universes.