Ordinary professionalism and 20 years' experience can accomplish a lot, but it can't access the hidden places.

It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer to get noticed and to get some sales. It can also be a pain in the arse because it gets in the way of the quiet, contemplative time every writer needs, but which is particularly important when you are a new writer finding your own voice, and pursuing the things that interest you.

I wanted to write a new fable and see how many rules you could break.

There are only three possible endings -aren't there? - to any story: revenge, tragedy or forgiveness. That's it. All stories end like that.

Love is vivid. I never wanted the pale version. Love is full strength. I never wanted the diluted version. I never shied away from love's hugeness but I had no idea that love could be as reliable as the sun. The daily rising of love.

I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had.

There is no sense in loving someone you can never wake up to except by chance.