I'm terribly attention-seeking. It's very different once you get all this attention, though. Because then you want to control it. And you can't exactly.

I was quite fat as a kid. And swimming is a sport you can enjoy whatever size you are. If you're fat, running is a pain. I'm not really built for running.

All you can do in this life is follow your dreams. Otherwise you're just wasting your time.

A bully can only make you feel bad about yourself if you let them.

I thrive off the company of others, I love being sociable.

I was the kind of person who got bullied and loved the attention of it.

I've just swum the length of the Thames. I feel quite tired.

People think writing a children's book is something you could do in an afternoon but it's actually really hard.

I am a huge fan of 'Doctor Who.'

I was depressed as a child. I found it hard to make friends. My favourite thing was locking myself in the bathroom and practising comedy routines.

Children's books are often seen as the poor relation of literature. But children are just as demanding as adult readers, if not more so. I should know. I'm a children's writer myself.

Sometimes, all you can dois lie in bed, and hope to fall asleep beforeyou fall apart.

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten none are undeservedly remembered.

Always keep that happy attitude. Pretend that you are holding a beautiful fragrant bouquet.

I had very good eyes once. Though it's another thing to say what I saw. In my experience, it is entirely possible to watch something happen and not to see it at all.

Oh great. Yoda captured us.

Patience et longueur de temps Font plus que force ni que rage. Patience and longevity Are worth more than force and rage.

I'd done a very long project on Bridges To Babylon. I was on the road for ages with that. When I came off the road, I thought, the next thing I want to do on my own.

Failure is hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you're successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever.

I love my country more than anything. I spent 12 years in the United States Marine Corps. I know what it means to defend this country.