Books have a vital place in our culture. They are the source of ideas, of stories that engage and stretch the imagination and most importantly, inspire.

A book is a story, even if it's non-fiction, and once I've read it, I have the story with me inside my head always.

It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree about things we can still love and look out for each other.

Scotland just isn't terribly Tory.

It may take a village to raise a baby, but hell! it takes an army to produce a book.

At the end of the day, that's what a family is - a group of different people who accept each other.

Writers are a product of where we come from but by looking at alternatives to the culture in which we live, we can find ways to change and hopefully improve it.