Coming up with the idea is the worst part of writing for me.

I know I'm not normal in this, but [ Severus ] Snape is absolutely my favorite character in the Harry Potter books. He is completely mortal - good, bad, strong, weak, motivated by hatred, motivated by love. A gorgeous, compelling, complex character who definitely earns a spot at my table.

People forget that old women were young once, but d'you think we old women forget? In my heart, I'm still thirty.

In the end, the best part of the whole book [The Nightingale ] to me was the research, reading about the courageous, ordinary French women who put their lives on the line to save others. It was really inspirational.

To be honest, I wrote so many drafts of this book [ The Nightingale ] and changed the characters so many times; the real surprise is that I finished the book at all.

Calling it lunacy makes it easier to explain away the things we don't understand.

The answers are what they are. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they aren't true.