Sara Sheridan Quotes
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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.
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It may take a village to raise a baby, but hell! it takes an army to produce a book.
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If we don't value the people who inspire us (and money is one mark of that) then what kind of culture are we building?
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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.
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To me, reading through old letters and journals is like treasure hunting. Somewhere in those faded, handwritten lines there is a story that has been packed away in a dusty old box for years.
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We can learn so much looking outside our core field of expertise.
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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.
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I'm a library user and I just don't hoard books. To me, they're for sharing.
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I had never really understood what an adventure life could be, if you followed your heart and did what you really wanted to do, which is what we must all do in the end.
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There is something particularly fascinating about seeing places you know in a piece of art - be that in a film, or a photograph or painting.
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Historical fiction of course is particularly research-heavy. The details of everyday life are there to trip you up. Things that we take for granted, indeed, hardly think about, can lead to tremendous mistakes.
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I had loved poetry and the theatre. Now I loved adventure more.
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For me, writing stories set, well, wherever they're best set, is a form of cultural curiosity that is uniquely Scottish - we're famous for travelling in search of adventure.
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Aunts offer kids an opportunity to try out ideas that don't chime with their parents and they also demonstrate that people can get on, love each other and live together without necessarily being carbon copies.
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Like most little girls, I found the lure of grown-up accessories astonishing - lipstick, perfume, hats and gloves. When I write female characters in my historical novels, getting these details right is vital.
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Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble.
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Writers need each other.
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The law don't like jazz clubs. No one wants anything to do with that kind of trouble.
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I'm not sure how much easier it is for a mother to balance her life now - have we simply swapped one set of restrictions for another?
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I've always had a keen sense of history. My father was an antiques dealer and he used to bring home boxes full of treasures, and each item always had a tale attached.
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Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.
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The net has provided a level playing field for criticism and comment - anyone and everyone is entitled to their opinion - and that is one of its greatest strengths.
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Books exist for me not as physical entities with pages and binding, but in the province of my mind.
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I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any kind of writing - as long as the writing is good.
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The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.
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I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. I've met some wonderful people and discovered that however arcane some of my interests that there are people out there who are interested too.
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Scotland just isn't terribly Tory.
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Sometimes I create a character from a scrap - a mere mention that has been left behind.
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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.
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A book is a story, even if it's non-fiction, and once I've read it, I have the story with me inside my head always.
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