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Quotes by Scottish Authors
"There is a kind of gaping admiration that would fain roll Shakespeare and Bacon into one, to have a bigger thing to gape at; and a class of men who cannot edit one author without disparaging all others."
"Being able to read well in public and talk about your work in an engaging fashion is part of most writers' job specification."
"When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light."
"Never, my little one, hide anything from those that love you. Never let anything that makes itself a nest in your heart, grow into a secret, for then at once it will begin to eat a hole in it."
"To cease to wonder is to fall plumb-down from the childlike to the commonplace-the most undivine of all moods intellectual. Our nature can never be at home among things that are not wonderful to us."
"There's nothing like a military man, even out of uniform."
"New technologies and resources offer exciting opportunities. They democratise access to information."
"People make interesting assumptions about the profession. The writer is a mysterious figure, wandering lonely as a cloud, fired by inspiration, or perhaps a cocktail or two."
"In wartime, she thought to herself, you don't call a death murder."
"Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer."
"In wartime people took action because of what they believed in. In peacetime people were driven by their private concerns."
"Crime writers, I've noticed, can be jumpy. They live in a world where there are murderers on the loose and they haven't been caught yet!"
"The moon was low but not full. The men set out along the dock in conversation. As they dropped onto the dark beach, Simmons declared, 'There can be no better place in the world than this.'Henderson had to agree. The beach was beautiful. The stars lit the sand and balmy air rode in as the waves washed up on paradise."
"Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think."
"My fascination with history is as much about the present as it is about the past."
"Let's be clear - for people like me, who are obsessed with story and for whom words are their medium, writing is the best job possible. I work hard, but I earn more than the national average wage while I play with my imagination, and for me, that's a dream."
"In the middle section of the book Mirabelle breaks into not one, but two houses near Belgravia Books. I had fun scoping these out - checking which windows looked least secure and figuring out how to scale the mews houses to the rear to get her inside. A man came out at one point, 'What are you doing?' he questioned me. 'The thing is, I'm writing a book,' I started with a smile. He waved me off, his hand as wide as a tennis racket. 'Everyone is writing a book, my dear,' he said. Between you and I, it's his house that MIrabelle ends up breaking into."
"Maria didn't fear the sea but, as taught by her father, she respected its power. In her experience the ocean had no intent to drown travellers."
"I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. I've met some wonderful people and discovered that however arcane some of my interests that there are people out there who are interested too."
"Looking at my life through the lens of history has made me increasingly grateful to standout women who pushed those boundaries to make the changes from which I have benefited."
"God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose--to proclaim the gospel of God."
"Our Lord never referred to unanswered prayer he taught that prayers are always answered. He ever implied that prayers were answered rightly because of the Heavenly Father's wisdom."
"He often came back 'all thinky' from work."
"We had laid down the law : no chocolate, no sex."
"The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience."
"God did not direct His call to Isaiah- Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God's call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude."
"As a novelist it is my job to tell stories that inspire and entertain but I am increasingly mindful that many of these historical tales (which of themselves are fascinating) relate directly to our issues in society today."
"You couldn't predict what was going to happen for one simple reason: people."
"I pride myself on making my own decisions, sir," she said. "I do not welcome gentlemen making them for me."
"Few delights can equal the presence of one whom we trust utterly."
"Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk."
"Scotland consistently produces world-class writers."
"Beware of anything that would tarnish God's mirror in you. It is always something good stains it-good, but not best."
"Every time we pray our horizon is altered our attitude to things is altered not sometimes but every time and the amazing thing is that we don't pray more."
"I am completely unflustered by whichever medium people choose to read my words. I'm just delighted they're reading them at all!"
"I hope that, whatever happens within the publishing industry, because of the increased control writers have of their own careers, better sales information and the advent of the internet, that ultimately this change in our working environment will be a change for the better."
"Living in Edinburgh, I consider myself particularly lucky - we have the biggest book festival in the world, a plethora of fascinating libraries and museums, and some of the greatest architecture in Europe."
"Books have a vital place in our culture. They are the source of ideas, of stories that engage and stretch the imagination and most importantly, inspire."
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