There are about as many ways to be dead as there are to be alive. People linger in different ways, both publicly and privately.

People do not change, they are merely revealed.

Try to be accurate about stuff.

I have a small room to write in. One wall is completely covered in books. And I face the window with the curtain closed to stop the light hitting the computer.

In more static societies, like Ireland, you can tell where a person is from by their surname, or where their grandparents are from.

People whose lives are upside down often read fiction. When you're not sure where you'll end up or how you are going to be, and you're looking for some way forward, fiction is a great friend.

People think motherhood involves a lot of domestic labor, and it doesn't. It involves being nice to your children as often as possible. That's part of my trick. I don't have that anxiety about meeting their needs.