The law don't like jazz clubs. No one wants anything to do with that kind of trouble.

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.

It's all about energy

Ah! That glance of yours did some magic on me, you were not aware of. For once I died and was reborn.

If not for him, I would never have become the man I am today. I ask that you not hold it against him. He meant well

An illusion which makes me happy is worth a verity which drags me to the ground.

Filipinos don't wallow in what is miserable and ugly. They recycle the bad into things of beauty.

I do everything I can for wild animals because they have such a bloody awful time.

Give a critic an inch, he'll write a play.

Canada was settled, in the main, by people with a lower middle-class outlook, and a respect, rather than an affectionate familiarity, for the things of the mind.

Ultimately, as individuals we each have to ask ourselves to be courageous and apply certain principles.

No, we don't cheat. And even if we did, I'd never tell you.