Sometimes I create a character from a scrap - a mere mention that has been left behind.

It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree about things we can still love and look out for each other.

I always thought that bagels and lox was my soul food, but it turns out it's sushi.

Something I notice speaking to writers from south of Hadrians Wall is that the culture is different. At base, I think Scotland values its creative industries differently from England.

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.

The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.

I believe the era of the militant lady is back.

Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our lives today.

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.

Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.

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.

The grace of God is freely given.

Say not: I live today, I shall die tomorrow. Divide not reality between life and death. Say: now I live and die.

Minutes are sometimes like eternities if they are let go.

Friendship cannot live with ceremony nor without civility.

The jobless recovery in Maine is much more of a reality than we thought it was.

In designing Supergirl, I wanted to embrace the past but more importantly, thrust her into the street-style action hero of today.

In a democracy, power is not permanent.

Loneliness is the worst of all tortures, the worst of all sufferings.

Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests; snug as a gun. ~from the poem "Digging

I could not bounce back from my divorce - emotionally - I just could not bounce back.