Since I was an adult, I've always lived in the centre of London - King's Cross, Bloomsbury - and never thought I'd leave.
— Jane Fallon
Thirty is still the iconic number. It's when people compare their actual lives with what they think they should have achieved.
I'm not a gossip. The worst thing anyone can say to me is, 'Ooh, I've got some gossip.' I'm like, 'Oh, shut up.'
I just feel that if you're going to have kids, you need to believe that, emotionally, you can give them a really good life.
I like being on my own. I'm very happy in my own company.
What I find weird is that the term 'chick lit' is used to encompass literally anything a woman writes about relationships. It's the assumption that because you're female, you must write in a certain way. I don't understand why that is - it is a bit demeaning.
In the winter, my failsafe dinner party menu has to be my roast chicken or a creamy fish pie with mashed potatoes on top, followed by something like a tarte tatin. My cooking style is quite homely.
I'm such a sucker for the Tiffany blue box.
Our Siamese cat, Ollie, is like a dog in a cat's body because she is really loyal and very chatty, following me around the house all day.
I never show my books to Ricky. His writing is very different, and anyway, he's only read one novel in his life: 'The Catcher in the Rye.'
If someone tells me something and asks me to keep it a secret, I always do.
Getting up early means I can write for a few hours before anyone starts phoning me or ringing the doorbell.
The earlier I wake up, the better my day, so I try to get out of bed between 5 A.M. and 7 A.M.
My whole life, I've wanted to be a novelist.
Even when I was a kid, I was never interested in any of that marriage or baby stuff.
I've got no desire to be famous myself.
I suppress stress to the point where it will force its way through my skin in the form of a large angry pimple because that's the only channel it has.
Whenever I'm out, I have a bit of a yearning to be in my house, to be able to shut the door on the world.
'Teachers' is in no way a realistic soap; we're not trying to do that, which is why we never do 'issues.'
Having grown up quite shy and quiet, it's important that I mark out who I am in the world through my work.
If I die, I know the news item would be, 'Partner of Ricky Gervais and novelist dies.' That would come first. But I've come to terms with it. As long as they do still add the 'and novelist,' that will be fine.
It's a difficult world, and you shouldn't have kids unless you really want them.
I love the tailoring of '50s- and '60s-inspired dresses.
The best thing about a British winter is the cold weather, real fires, frosty mornings. I love living somewhere that has proper seasons.
Painting my nails is the easiest way to look as though I've made an effort.
The Killers and Kaiser Chiefs are great for exercise.
When I started working from home, I made a promise to myself to go out at least once a day.
I write about messy relationships - between friends, rivals, married couples, siblings. I'm not really interested in boy/girl romances.
My hair is frizzy, so I'm constantly smoothing it down.
When I left university with a history degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do, and I was terrified of accidentally ending up in the wrong career.
My idea of the perfect day is nothing to do and a great book on the go.
One thing that was drummed into me when I was younger is that you have to make your own way in life, that you mustn't expect anyone else to support you.
I spent my whole childhood trying to find places to be on my own. I used to sit on the water tank in the attic or in the dog's kennel. I was quite a strange child.
I've always been a glass-half-empty sort of person.
I love being at home.
Any situation where I feel like people are looking at me and I've got to speak is the kind of thing I have nightmares about.
I'm stupidly shy. It's the thing I dislike most about myself.
What I like about writing novels is that I'm in my own world for nine months.
I have a strong say in how my books are marketed, and the covers - I am very firm that I don't want pink and fluffy, or stick figures sitting drinking cocktails. That's simply not appealing to me.
My biggest source of inspiration is listening to people's conversations. I'm a big eavesdropper.
After my eye test, I was told I was showing symptoms of glaucoma. I realised - but only in retrospect - that pains in my eyes and the feeling of pressure that I had been experiencing must have been because of that. I'd assumed they were symptoms of migraines.
Ricky and I met aged 22 at University College London.
The idea of appearing in front of an audience or on live TV terrifies me.
I started out working as a script editor and storyliner.
One reviewer dubbed my first book, 'Getting Rid of Matthew,' 'chick noir,' and another called it 'anti chick lit,' both of which I loved.
I rarely go out at night - usually once every two weeks. I'm much happier staying in.
I think a lot of people assume you need to be born into a special creative family to have a career as a writer. So I never thought it would happen for me.
I remember watching a 'Big Brother' contestant saying that she wanted to be a footballer's wife. I thought, 'What is the world coming to?'
Bizarrely, I've been called selfish for not having children. Surely it's more selfish to have a child when you don't really want a child?
I'm not a girly girl at all.
