All through childhood, I wrote verses and mysteries. There is, for me, one connection: structure. My poetry is metrical, rhyming.

— Sophie Hannah

Are men like babies? Is trying to distract them a better tactic than asking them to behave reasonably?

— Sophie Hannah

If you only have one world, one life, then however brilliant it is most of the time, you have nowhere to run when you need to escape from it for a while.

— Sophie Hannah

I never do enjoy my breaks, long or short... I look forward to them intensely, but as soon as they begin, I can feel them starting to end. Furthermore, I feel the temporariness of my freedom, and find it hard to concentrate on anything other than the sensation of it trickling away.

— Sophie Hannah

I thought to myself, 'No matter what happens from now on, even if my heart ends up in pieces, this makes it all worth it, this moment.

— Sophie Hannah

I want my books to explore motives which make people think, 'Wow! Imagine the psychological state you'd have to be in for that to be your motive!' Whereas things like blackmail, jealousy - they're rational reasons for committing murder.

— Sophie Hannah

Lies were lethal, however honorable the intentions of the liar. They deprived people of the opportunity to know the basic facts of their own lives.

— Sophie Hannah

Look at us. One bleeding body, one corpse, and a husk who's been half dead for years. No one who took an objective look at this room could think it was anything but too late, Ruth. For all of us.

— Sophie Hannah

No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good, but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important if she wasn't just writing about romantic relationships.

— Sophie Hannah

That's not me talking, it's your inner voice. I'd attempt the accent, only I don't speak low self-esteem. It's a language I've never needed to learn.

— Sophie Hannah