Quote collection
40 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"I've been asked why does Ireland produce so many great musicians, and the answer is it doesn't. When you count the great musicians Ireland has given the world in the last 20 years, you can do it on one hand."
"When I was growing up, the exam system didn't allow you to write fiction, so you never did."
"I don't work to any commissions. I do what I want to do."
"I do enjoy Gothic fiction or books about zombies if they are well written and I like vampires."
"I tend to plan as I write. And I want to leave myself open and the character open to keep on going until it seems to be the time to stop."
"I'm going to sound like an old man but at my age, it's lovely doing something that you've never done before."
"I like naming characters."
"She's a pot-of-tea-before-I-say-boo-to-you woman. There's always a pile of warm teabags in the sink when I come down, like what a horse would leave behind."
"Most working days I can be at my desk for nine hours a day."
"It's hard for me to measure them, or to assess my books because I'm so close to them."
"Dreaming was only nice while it lasted."
"I write short stories when a little idea occurs to me, that I know isn't a part of a novel that will stand by itself and should be concentrated."
"My parents were sixty years married."
"My novels come from within me; they are things I feel I want to do."
"Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide."
"Sometimes adults seem as though they have cut a chord from being a child."
"It was a sign of growing up, when the dark made no more difference to you than the day."
"Schools don't really allow failure and yet it's part of any endeavour, not just writing."
"The best way to reveal a character is to get them to open their mouths."
"The problem with being Irish... is having 'Riverdance' on your back. It's a burden at times."