Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

Every year I teach dozens of students at the University of Birmingham. Most of the students on the gender and sexuality courses are women. I guess this is because the boys don't think that gender applies to them: that it's a subject for girls.

Much of my reading time over the last decade and a half has been spent reading aloud to my children. Those children's bedtime rituals of supper, bath, stories, and sleep have been a staple of my life and some of the best, most special times I can remember.

The young women in my classes are feisty and clever and believe, often with the passion of youthful optimism, that feminism is a battle already won. I worry for them - and for my daughters, too.

It took a brave editor in the U.S. to sign a contract for Dancing Girls, and without her belief in the book, I'm not sure it would ever have found its way into print.

Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

The importance and influence of books on me has been cumulative: the result of hearing and reading lots of stories about interesting people and places.