She loved you in the morning because the day was new.

First rule of writing: When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

I don't keep any copies of my books in the house - they go to my mum's flat. I don't like them around.

...They cannot escape their history any more than you yourself can lose your shadow.

Rarely does one see a squirrel tremble.

- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki had dreaded having girls: she knew she wouldn't be able to protect them from self-disgust.

It seems to me now that the deep structures [in writing] are often subconscious and set in childhood.