She always had that about her, that look of otherness, of eyes that see things much too far, and of thoughts that wander off the edge of the world.

From a very young age my mother persuaded me that I could write for fun, but I had to have a proper job - very good advice.

Our lives are like these things I make. Turn 'em, build 'em, bake 'em in fire. That's what you've been, son. Baked and fired. But a pot don't have the right to choose whether he be for water, wine, or just left empty. You have, son. You have.

I'd rather be a freak than a clone.

I've nothing against kids reading anything they please, but I do have a problem with pink books for girls and black books for boys.

Change isn't always comfortable, but it is a fact of life.

I sell dreams, small comforts, sweet harmless temptations to bring down a multitude of saints crashing among the hazels and nougatines