He dreamed of London and of a life that mattered.

The inner eye does not see upon command.

Personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely.

If you love something - and there are things that I love - you do want more and more and more of it, but that's not the way to produce good work.

I always advise children who ask me for tips on being a writer to read as much as they possibly can. Jane Austen gave a young friend the same advice, so I'm in good company there.

I believe that lack of empathy is behind many problems, and I believe that it's disrupting our society. In Great Britain, there is a steady decline in the willingness to be truly generous, and by that I don't mean monetary generosity, but friendship and sympathy for others.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.