Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
As an adult, I had to accept that I was not a natural distance runner. Anything more than about 400 metres had me gasping and wheezing like a broken accordion.
I spent my whole childhood trying to find places to be on my own. I used to sit on the water tank in the attic or in the dog's kennel. I was quite a strange child.
Grandchildren are the Furbies of the offspring world. They're cute, they're funny, you can play with them and then put them away when they start to get on your nerves.
I was never one of those little girls who played with baby dolls and picked names for her firstborn. I was playing in the mud with my dog, doing backflips, and climbing trees.
I have a strong say in how my books are marketed, and the covers - I am very firm that I don't want pink and fluffy, or stick figures sitting drinking cocktails. That's simply not appealing to me.
In the winter, my failsafe dinner party menu has to be my roast chicken or a creamy fish pie with mashed potatoes on top, followed by something like a tarte tatin. My cooking style is quite homely.
If I die, I know the news item would be, 'Partner of Ricky Gervais and novelist dies.' That would come first. But I've come to terms with it. As long as they do still add the 'and novelist,' that will be fine.
You come across those real, genuine friendships so rarely in your life and they are so precious, you know the people who really have your back, who love you unconditionally and aren't your family. You don't stumble across those people very often.
After my eye test, I was told I was showing symptoms of glaucoma. I realised - but only in retrospect - that pains in my eyes and the feeling of pressure that I had been experiencing must have been because of that. I'd assumed they were symptoms of migraines.
What I find weird is that the term 'chick lit' is used to encompass literally anything a woman writes about relationships. It's the assumption that because you're female, you must write in a certain way. I don't understand why that is - it is a bit demeaning.