Children are caterpillars and adults are butterflies. No butterfly ever remembers what it felt like being a caterpillar.

My grandmother told stories; she was very good at that.

I live in Hamburg; that's in the north. And I live on the outskirts of town. It looks like countryside.

Reality is a fragile thing.

Every book should begin with attractive endpapers. Preferably in a dark colour: dark red or dark blue, depending on the binding. When you open the book it's like going to the theatre. First you see the curtain. Then it's pulled aside and the show begins.

You really don't understand the first thing about writing...for one thing, early in the morning is the worst possible time. the brain is like a wet sponge at that hour. And for another, real writing is a question of staring into space and waiting for the right ideas.

Ten minutes can be a long time when you're waiting with a beating heart for something you don't understand, something you don't really want to know.