“When narratives fracture, when words fail, I take consolation from the...” — Hilary Mantel Quote

“When narratives fracture, when words fail, I take consolation from the part of my life that always works: the stationery order. The mail-order stationery people supply every need from royal blue Quink to a dazzling variety of portable hard drives.”

“But an experienced reader is also a self-aware and critical reader. I can't remember ever reading a story without judging it.”

“Once you're labeled as mentally ill, and that's in your medical notes, then anything you say can be discounted as an artefact of your mental illness.”

“Concentrate your narrative energy on the point of change. This is especially important for historical fiction. When your character is new to a place, or things alter around them, that's the point to step back and fill in the details of their world.”

“When I wrote about the French Revolution, I didn't choose to write about aristocrats; I chose characters who began their lives in provincial obscurity.”

“Once in a blue moon, an entire industry is a good short.”

“I could cure Covid and still the first line would be: 'He was that guy who was fired from 'Blue Peter' and the head of BBC One went on telly and said that thing about him.'”

“Fashion is mysterious, as a rule. Why are blue jeans a classic? You just hit on something that happens to be timeless and right.”

“Every man's closet should be dark pair of blue jeans, a black jean, and a mid wash jean.”

“Everyone, red state, blue state, everyone supports space exploration.”

“Blue is the color of peace. Water is blue. I like the color blue because it just puts me at peace. The patriotic symbol is blue. I just like blue.”