Pagford, which by night was no more than a cluster of twinkling lights in a dark hollow far below, was emerging into chilly sunlight.

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.

I write nearly every day. Some days I write for ten or eleven hours. Other days I might only write for three hours. It really depends on how fast the ideas are coming.

There was a point where I really felt I had 'penniless divorcee lone parent' tattooed on my head.

We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.

Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe.

I sometimes have a tendency to walk on the dark side.