Fairy tales opened up a door into my imagination – they dont conform to the reality thats around you as a child. I started reading when I was three and read everything, but I wanted to be an actress. – Kate Atkinson
My father was an autodidact. It wasnt a middle-class house. Shopkeepers are aspirant. He paid for me to go to private school. He was denied an education – he had a horrible childhood. He got a place at a grammar school and wasnt allowed to go. – Kate Atkinson
When Im writing, my neural pathways get blocked. I cant read. I can barely hold a conversation without forgetting words and names. I wish I could wear the same clothes and eat the same food each day. – Kate Atkinson
Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like. Theres nothing that says I cant write a page of full stops. There is no should involved, although you wouldnt know that from literary reviews and critics. – Kate Atkinson
We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal weve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile. – Earl Nightingale