At the end of the day, that's what a family is - a group of different people who accept each other.

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.

Busy hands achieve more than idle tongues.

Ax-man. Cardboard isn’t one of the major food groups, remember?”-Marco

I can barely breathe but I think that his lips might be better than oxygen at the moment.

Why is it that you can sometimes feel the reality of people more keenly through a letter than face to face?

Your feelings are your god.

Family has always been the most important thing in my life. The only real goal that I ever had was to be a good mother.

A woman ought to look up to her husband, if only a half-inch.

God is the most important thing in our lives. I suppose that's true of everybody's lives, whether or not they want to believe it.

You will hardly conquer, but conquer you must. [Lat., Male vincetis, sed vincite.]

To find riches is a beggar’s dream, but to find love is the dream of kings.