The bitterness of joy lies in the knowledge that is cannot last. Nor should joy last beyond a certain season, for, after that season, even joy would become merely habit.

When I started as a writer, I knew nothing about publishing-nothing about anything!

I just love writing. It's magical, it's somewhere else to go, it's somewhere much more dreadful, somewhere much more exciting. Somewhere I feel I belong, possibly more than in the so-called real world.

Maidens who stay maidens turn into saints. Old women become sorceresses. Tough jobs, both of these.

It's lovely. I hate it.

As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm.

When I am fascinated by something, I like to play with it.