Letters, like compilation tapes, were really vehicles for unexpressed emotions and she was clearly putting far too much time and energy into them.

She wondered if she was doomed to be one of those people who spend their lives trying things.

You can't throw away years of your life because it makes a funny anecdote.

David Holdaway was my stage name. I was an actor for about eight years in the '90s. I had to change my name because there was another David Nicholls, and I thought if I changed it to my mother's name, she'd be touched.

Fear and anxiety are great motivators for me.

Happyish. Well, happyish isn't so bad.' 'It's the most we can hope for.

I would never complain about One Day taking off but it made me painfully self-conscious for a long time.