Imagination only comes when you privilege the subconscious, when you make delay and procrastination work for you.

When I was a child, there was very little money, so I've always been concerned for my financial security, which has meant that finding myself as a writer was a bad move. The practical difference the money has made is that I can support myself by fiction. That is what I have been trying to do throughout my life.

What fascinates me are the turning points where history could have been different.

Hilary Mantel Quotes