Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Writers need each other.
The world loves the 1950s.
I'm unique - a cosmopolitan mix.
Scotland just isn't terribly Tory.
I believe the era of the militant lady is back.
History at its best is a gritty, dirty business.
Scotland consistently produces world-class writers.
The cosmetic industry really took off in the 1950s.
Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble.
Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.
I had loved poetry and the theatre. Now I loved adventure more.
Scottish writers are particularly successful in the crime genre.
We can learn so much looking outside our core field of expertise.
As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective.
History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.
Often we don't notice the stringent rules to which our culture subjects us.
I'm a library user and I just don't hoard books. To me, they're for sharing.
Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.
Some matters are simply contentious. Sometimes you're never going to get it right.
I always thought that bagels and lox was my soul food, but it turns out it's sushi.
Writing about the 1950s has given me tremendous respect for my mother's generation.
It may take a village to raise a baby, but hell! it takes an army to produce a book.
For a novelist, the gaps in a story are as intriguing as material that still exists.
The law don't like jazz clubs. No one wants anything to do with that kind of trouble.
Sometimes I create a character from a scrap - a mere mention that has been left behind.
A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character.
If I hadn't been able to get my first book published, I am not sure what I would have done.
I'm grateful that I've enjoyed the support of libraries, bookshops and institutional funders.
Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.
Very often the characters people respond to best have little parts of reality they can relate to.
An Aunt is a safe haven for a child. Someone who will keep your secrets and is always on your side.
Books exist for me not as physical entities with pages and binding, but in the province of my mind.
At the end of the day, that's what a family is - a group of different people who accept each other.
We don't live in a society that has genuine equality, and every woman we know has experienced that.
As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age.
The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.
Personally I estimate about a third of my time is spent on author events, social media and traditional publicity.
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.
The writer is a mysterious figure, wandering lonely as a cloud, fired by inspiration, or perhaps a cocktail or two.
If we don't value the people who inspire us (and money is one mark of that) then what kind of culture are we building?
Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.
I find it inspiring to actively choose which traditions to celebrate and also come up with new ideas for traditions of my own.
It's easy to laugh at etiquette, but in a hundred years, our children's grandchildren will almost certainly be laughing at us.
I'm not sure how much easier it is for a mother to balance her life now - have we simply swapped one set of restrictions for another?
The question shouldn't be 'Are we guilty about our colonial past;' it should be 'Why aren't we more guilty about our corporate present'?
Writers have it easy. If you write a bestseller or have your book made into a movie, you'll never have to work again, or so the myth goes.
Research material can turn up anywhere - in a dusty old letter in an archive, a journal or some old photographs you find in a charity shop.
There is something particularly fascinating about seeing places you know in a piece of art - be that in a film, or a photograph or painting.
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.
I jealously guard my research time and I love fully immersing myself in those dusty old books and papers. It's one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.