Rowling is a luminous storyteller. I love her sense of humor and the intricate wizarding world she built around Hogwarts. I think all writers aspire to be like her, to capture readers like she does. But I didn't think about 'Harry Potter' when I wrote 'The Bone Season.' Votes: 26
My English teachers gave me a copy of Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' when I left high school, which has always been very special to me - it was the novel that introduced me to dystopian fiction. I'm also influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, Dickens, John Wyndham and Middle English dream-visions. Votes: 16
I worry that people think you have to go to a university to be a good writer, which is categorically untrue. I don't think I learned how to write at Oxford. I did not go to any creative writing classes or anything. Votes: 15
People question what I thought of Oxford. Students used to talk about the 'Oxford bubble' because the place can make you feel cut off from the rest of the world. I would forget there were places like London that were not centred round libraries and essays. Votes: 13
I'm not going to give it the big 'I am' now that I'm a New York Times bestseller. Votes: 13
I fell even more deeply in love with Tolkien's 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. Votes: 11
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. Votes: 11
I am the first one to go to university in my family. I am the first writer as well. My dad is a retired policeman, and my mom works for a glass-processing company. She is health-and-safety manager, and my stepfather is a plumber. I have four half siblings, one from my mom's marriage and three from my dad's marriage, so we are kind of scattered. Votes: 9
In 2011, I did an internship in Seven Dials, a junction in London where seven roads come together. I'd given up on writing after multiple rejections for my first novel, and I was starting to consider a career in publishing instead, but Seven Dials gave me such a strong idea for a setting that I couldn't resist picking up my pen again. Votes: 9
I was mostly an indoor girl at university. Where other students did drama or music or sport alongside their degrees, I wrote. I used to work on essays and classwork during the day and 'The Bone Season' in the evenings. Votes: 9
I was not really aware of the dystopian genre before I read 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Many poets as well, like John Donne and Emily Dickinson, would be the influences; I specialized in Emily Dickinson at university. Both of those poets have really interesting ways of looking at life and death. Votes: 8
What I like about Oxford is how small it is; it's really more of a big town than a city. Votes: 7
Whenever anyone calls me 'The new J..K. Rowling,' I think, 'What's wrong with the old one?' Votes: 7
I've been writing since I was about thirteen but didn't start a book until 2007. I spent four years writing a sci-fi novel before I wrote 'The Bone Season' at nineteen. Votes: 6
I'm often daydreaming, and it's because I've always liked the idea of there being something more than the normal world. Votes: 5
I was always more interested in my books and my writing than going out. It's OK to say I'm a nerd. That's me. Votes: 5
It is a strange world, Oxford - quite claustrophobic. I was often glad I was only there for eight weeks at a time. Votes: 5
I was a hacker of sorts. Not a mind 'reader,' exactly; more a mind 'radar,' in tune with the workings of the aether. I could sense the nuances of dreamscapes and rogue spirits. Things outside myself. Things the average voyant wouldn't feel. Votes: 4
His dreamscape sent a tongue of fire across my flowers Votes: 4
I wanted to write a sci-fi story that would appeal to young women. Loads of girls like sci-fi, but it's more culturally associated with guys. Votes: 4
I was so sure I wanted to be a novelist. I would spend hours and hours every day writing. Little stories about nothing in particular. I recall one about someone with an illness. But my dedication wasn't really healthy, and it reached the point where I wasn't sleeping. My mum would tell me, 'You need to go outside to get some fresh air.' Votes: 3
I had lived in that part of London that used to be called Islington since I was eight. I attended a private school for girls, leaving at sixteen to work. That was in the year 2056. AS 127, if you use the Scion calendar. Votes: 3
London had so much death in its history, it was hard to find a spot without spirits. They formed a safety net. Still, you had to hope the ones you got were good. Votes: 3
I was a shy child, and when I was 13, I started wearing braces on my teeth. I used to be acutely self-conscious, and I think writing was a way of withdrawing into my own imagination. Votes: 3
J. K. Rowling is one of my favourite authors, and I really admire how she created this big wizarding world. But I think our books are very, very different, and I don't think there can be a next J. K. Rowling. She is one of a kind. Votes: 3
My silver cord - the link between my body and my spirit - was extremely sensitive. It was what allowed me to sense dreamscapes at a distance. It could also snap me back into my skin. Votes: 3
For me, just being published feels like success. Votes: 2
If I never returned-if you never see me again-it will mean that everything is alright. That I have ended her. But if I return, it will mean I have failed. That there is still danger. And then I will find you Votes: 1
That's delusional, isn't it?''Definitely. But if you're both delusional together, you'll be fine. Votes: 1
his thumbs ran over my cheeks. Our foreheads touched. My dreamscape scorched. He set fire to the poppies Votes: 0
I always felt that sci-fi and fantasy were my thing. Bit of a geek, Im afraid. But I like creating worlds, and I felt it was a genre that gave me more freedom. It just seemed like I belonged there. Votes: 0
I do not know what I can do for this world but I will not let any harm come to you Votes: 0
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 Votes: 0
I like to imagine there were more of us in the beginning. Not many, I suppose. But more than there are now. Votes: 0
I looked at him and he looked at me. A moment. A choice. My choice. His choice. Votes: 0
I was born in 1991, and Harry Potter came out in 97, so, you know, I was really obsessed. I used to read them in one night. Votes: 0
I was not a rebellious teenager. I was a sit-in-your-room teenager. Votes: 0
I would never see him again. But as I watched the tunnel race before my eyes, I was certain of one thing: I did trust him. Now I had only to trust in myself. Votes: 0
Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can't get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always. Votes: 0
My father thought I would lead a simple life; that I was bright but unambitious, complacant with whatever work life threw at me. My father, as usual, was wrong. Votes: 0
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. Votes: 0
Nothing's worse than a story without an end. Votes: 0
There are certain things in life that you never forget. Things that dig deep, things that nest in the hadal zone. Votes: 0
There was no normal. There never had been. "Normal" and "natural" were the biggest lies we'd ever created. Votes: 0
They'd branded me like some kind of animal. Lower than an animal. A number. Votes: 0
Words are everything. Words give wings even to those who have been stamped upon, broken beyond all hope of repair. Votes: 0
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, Votes: 0