I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion therapy.

It's not a bad thing for a writer not to feel at home. Writers - we're much more comfortable at parties standing in the corner watching everybody else having a good time than we are mingling.

It sounded like a piece of blackboard being dragged over the nails of a wall of severed fingers.

This is a work of fiction. All the characters in it, human and otherwise, are imaginary, excepting only certain of the fairy folk, whom it might be unwise to offend by casting doubts on their existence. Or lack thereof.

Read. Read anything. Read the things they say are good for you, and the things they claim are junk. You'll find what you need to find. Just read.

I was a book-y child. I was much more book-y than dark.

What do stars do? They shine.