If I see Marian Keyes' books or Patricia Scanlan's books given more prominence than mine in the bookstore, I'll move mine to the front. I've told them I do this, and they've confessed to doing the same thing to me.
I've seen a lot of people buy my books and then fall asleep on the plane soon afterwards.
Money doesn't make you happy, but it gives a zone of comfort around you.
I am not a member of Fat Liberation, nor do I think that obesity is healthy. But I do believe that in many ways my life has been a more charmed and happy one because I was always large.
I'm particularly fond of boned chicken breasts with a little garlic under the flesh and cooked in a casserole for 40 minutes with a jar of olives, some cherry tomatoes and a spoonful of olive oil.
I didn't get excited by weight loss, and since I was already happy being fat, I couldn't see the point of it all. I'm 6 ft. and weigh about 18 st. or 19 st., but weighing myself is not something I do with much pleasure.
Never mind money; the gifts of time and skill call into being the richest marketplace in the world.
We have to make our own happiness, and we have to make our own decisions and play the hand that is dealt to us.
If I had my life to live all over again, I really think I would have been a fit person. Looking around me, I realise that the men and women who walked and ran and swam and played sport look better and feel better than the rest of us.
My memory of my home was that it was very happy, and that there was more fun and life there than there was anywhere else.
I thought it must be desperate to be old. To wake up in the morning and remember that you were ancient - and so behave that way. I thought old people were full of aches and pains and horrible illnesses.
I believed that old people never laughed. I thought they sighed a lot and groaned. They walked with sticks, and they didn't like children on bicycles or roller skates or with big dogs.
I love thriller writers. My favourites are Harlan Coban, Lee Child, Ian Rankin, Kathy Reichs and Ed McBain.
I have great family and good friends; the stories I told became popular, and people all over the world bought them.
I didn't have a sweet tooth, but I liked butter, and I liked sauces, and I liked wine and curry and cheeses.
It was so silly to try to define things by words. What did one person mean by infatuation or obsession and another mean by love. The whole thing couldn't be tidied away with neat little labels." - Lena Gray
I'm pleased to have outsold great writers. But I'm not insane - I realize I am a writer people buy to take on vacation.
All I ever wanted to do is to write stories that people will enjoy and feel at home with.
If you woke up each morning, and immediately dwelt on your ills, what sort of a day could you look forward to?
I had a very happy childhood, which is unsuitable if you're going to be an Irish writer.
I have always believed that life is too short for rows and disagreements. Even if I think I'm right, I would prefer to apologize and remain friends rather than win and be an enemy.
I couldn't have children, so that's the bad side. But compared to everything else I have, it's not all that terribly bad. I count my winners rather than my losers.
I'm a great will maker. I've made my will every year since I was 21.
You can't lay down laws for what people think and hope.
On the first day of school, my father told me I'd be the most popular girl and everyone would love me and want to be my friend. It wasn't so, but it gave me an enormous amount of confidence.
