And Sam Vimes thought: Why is Young Sam's nursery full of farmyard animals anyway? Why are his books full of moo-cows and baa-lambs? He is growing up in the city. He will only see them on a plate! They go sizzle!

Sometimes the only thing you could do for people was to be there.

I'm glad a genre writer has got a knighthood, but stunned that it was me.

You’d better tell me what you know, toad,” said Tiffany. “Miss Tick isn’t here. I am.” “Another world is colliding with this one,” said the toad. “There. Happy now? That’s what Miss Tick thinks. But it’s happening faster than she expected. All the monsters are coming back.” “Why?” “There’s no one to stop them.” There was silence for a moment. “There’s me,” said Tiffany.

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

I can see we're going to get along like a house on fire," said Miss Tick. "There may be no survivors.

Never trust a species that grins all the time. It’s up to something.