The law don't like jazz clubs. No one wants anything to do with that kind of trouble.

My father could talk about the Romany way of life and its culture. He could talk about freedom and the Scottish spirit. But that was all he could talk about. I was desperate for someone to talk to but there was just nobody there.

Writing about the 1950s has given me tremendous respect for my mother's generation.

I'm a library user and I just don't hoard books. To me, they're for sharing.

The new contract between writers and readers is one I'm prepared to sign up to. I've met some fascinating people at events and online. Down with the isolation of writers I say! And long live Twitter.

Aunts offer kids an opportunity to try out ideas that don't chime with their parents and they also demonstrate that people can get on, love each other and live together without necessarily being carbon copies.

A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character.