Settings are obviously important - and as a writer, you have to respect what was real at the time of the story you're writing. But the real key to success lies in finding the right characters to carry that story.

I had a very distant relationship with my father. It was always just me and my mother. It was a shattering blow when she died. I was 16.

Like children, adolescents need a framework. Otherwise they can't cope. When someone has unlimited freedom, it means there's nobody who cares what they're doing.

Joan Lingard Quotes