Quotes from Lisa Jewell

The business thing: well, business was weird. The world was full of strange operations, and companies carved into odd shapes to fit through loopholes and avoid taxes and make more money for less output. So what? Michael had told her that he oversaw a few operations, mainly import/export. He'd been honest with her about that.

My breath caught at the power of this statement. I immediately knew it to be the truest thing I'd ever heard. The weakness of men lay at the root of every bad thing that had ever happened.

But maybe I'll end up doing something else unconventional. Who knows. And I really hope that if I do, and as long as I'm not hurting anyone or doing anything, like, illegal, that everyone would accept it, you know, just carry on loving me anyway.

I know I keep coming here and telling you that I'm growing up, but before I used to think that being grown up meant doing grown-up things. Now I know that's not true, that being a grown-up is not about getting married, about smart flats and reading groups; it's about taking responsibility for your own actions and the consequences of those actions.

kind of lost the plot there, I think. Too many drugs. Too much scrumpy. Trying to black it all out. Ended up in prison a few times. Then two years ago, the last time I got out of prison, I bought this van and I've been trying to lie low, y'know? Trying to keep away from triggers. Live a quiet life.

My first husband dragged me out of London and made me live in the suburbs in Surrey - not where you want to be when you're 23.

I tried to write about my first marriage in a fictional version but got two pages into it and realised it was too personal. Then I came up with an old-fashioned love triangle, which became the plot for 'Ralph's Party.'

For a very long time, I thought everyone I met through the process of getting an agent and a publishing deal had made a mistake. When they agreed to pay me for the book, I thought they would ask me for the money back.

Agents and publishers are always looking for something 'different,' a fresh viewpoint and a new voice, not just re-hashed versions of stuff that's gone before.

When I was a little girl, I was a real, drippy bookworm. But when I went into fashion, I stopped reading.