When I was a child I had a ...

When I was a child I had a best friend who lived across the road from me. When her mother died unexpectedly it was like losing a member of my own family. I think I am still affected by the memory of that loss.
 Margaret Mahy

Quotes from the same author

There are certainly times when my own everyday life seems to retreat so the life of the story can take me over. That is why a writer often needs space and time, so that he or she can abandon ordinary life and "live" with the characters.
 Margaret Mahy
I was able to work out all sorts of attitudes to style and event and character, all of which affected the way I came to think about my own writing. I believe that all good writers are original.
 Margaret Mahy
Family!... You might just as well celebrate battle, murder and sudden death.
 Margaret Mahy