Writing a novel is like knocking on a door that will never open. You are so desperate to get in, you will say or do anything. You feel: please take my novel.

Not all of us know what we are. Some of us die without ever knowing. Some of us know, and never get caught. But we’re out there. Trust me.

They’d branded me like some kind of animal. Lower than an animal. A number.

I’m often daydreaming, and it’s because I’ve always liked the idea of there being something more than the normal world.

There was no normal. There never had been. “Normal” and “natural” were the biggest lies we’d ever created.

Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can’t get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.

I don’t know. I just want you with me. I had never said those words aloud. Now that I could taste my freedom I wanted him to share it with me. But he couldn’t change his life for me. And I couldn’t sacrifice my life to be with him.

I do not know what I can do for this world but I will not let any harm come to you.

There was no normal. There never had been. "Normal" and "natural" were the biggest lies we'd ever created.

I fell even more deeply in love with Tolkiens legendarium after studying Old English literature at uni, as I got a sense of the historical events and cultures that Tolkien used to create his world. My favourite of his imaginary locations is Lothlorien.