“I was a 20-something woman living in London and didn't want to write a...” — Emma Healey Quote

I was a 20-something woman living in London and didn't want to write about a 20-something woman living in London! It's an area well covered already, and people would probably have thought it was about me. I decided that if I wrote about an 82-year-old dementia sufferer, then no one could mistake it as a memoir.

People always want to give you advice about parenting. People who you've never met before will tell you you're doing something wrong. And it's quite similar in writing. People forget that you're a human; they just want to give you their advice.

I found 'The Face Of Another' by Kobo Abe disappointing despite the excellent, gothic premise: a man who's terrible facial scarring leads him to create a perfect mask.

I have a study at the back of the house, overlooking our garden. It's tiny, just wide enough to fit my desk in. The walls are covered with pin boards and art postcards from galleries all over the world, including Tate, MoMA, and Lenbachhaus.

There are many examples of great songs that become more famous when they are covered.

If fruit juices or sugar solutions are left to stand in the open air, they show after a few days the processes which are covered by the name of fermentation phenomena.

I always dug the stuff like the covered dish suppers because I could feel the fun and the joy of what church could be. I could feel God in the more social things; most kids probably feel this way.

I've been a news junkie as long as I can remember - and once you've covered a presidential campaign, it's nearly impossible to tear yourself away. There's so much at stake.