We say very little, for we do not need to. We are silent together, each in her own world, knowing the other is just at her back.

It's those little daily incidents of life that are dramatic, and if you put a frame around it , suddenly they become much bigger and much more important than you ever imagined.

Normally book ideas come to me in a moment.

As I get older, I use less jewelry - necklace or earrings each morning, not both; my clothes are getting more basic - fewer colours and simpler cuts; and my make-up is stripped back to basics.

I had walked along that street all my life, but had never been so aware that my back was to my home

My father was often impatient during March, waiting for winter to end, the cold to ease, the sun to reappear. March was an unpredictable month, when it was never clear what might happen. Warm days raised hopes until ice and grey skies shut over the town again.

Don't write about what you know - write about what you're interested in. Don't write about yourself - you aren't as interesting as you think.