I am a fellow commoner at Lucy Cavendish College. My husband used to be a lecturer at Leeds University, and we lived in Yorkshire for 11 years. When he gave up his job, we realised we could live wherever we liked. Sophie Hannah More Quotes by Sophie Hannah More Quotes From 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. 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 break long looks We manufacture anger to give ourselves the illusion of power when we feel weak and helpless. Sophie Hannah illusion weak giving Weak people always attack strong people - it's safer. It's weak people who are dangerous, who lash out uncontrollably and hurt you back. Stong people can walk away - no repercussions, you see, if you attack a stong person. Sophie Hannah strong hurt people Lies were lethal, however honourable the intentions of the liar. They deprived people of the opportunity to know the basic facts of their own lives. Sophie Hannah liars opportunity lying Most crime fiction plots are not ambitious enough for me. I want something really labyrinthine with clues and puzzles that will reward careful attention. Sophie Hannah ambitious rewards want-something Cambridge is heaven, I am convinced it is the nicest place in the world to live. As you walk round, most people look incredibly bright, as if they are probably off to win a Nobel prize. Sophie Hannah winning heaven people I always notice the dysfunctional dynamic of human relationships because most places where you encounter it, people are trying to pretend it isnt happening. Sophie Hannah encounters trying people No one has been buried at Mill Road Cemetery in Cambridge, England, for many years, and so the place has a shady, overgrown magic about it. Sophie Hannah magic england years But we'll stumble on, she and I, into our messy future. And we'll have each other. Sophie Hannah messy love You can always, and easily, give somebody the gift of hope and faith, even in the midst of despair. Sophie Hannah hope-and-faith despair giving I never write about CIA conspiracies or the FBI or mafia or anything like that because I just dont understand that world. But I think I do understand individual human harmfulness. Sophie Hannah mafia writing thinking I am actually incredibly contented and jolly. But, and I have no idea why this is, I have a really strong empathy with all kinds of warped and destructive modes of thinking. I don't know why, but those things co-exist. Sophie Hannah i-am empathy strong thinking My favourite Friday treat is to drive out of the centre of Cambridge, where we live, and go for a swim at the health club I've just joined out in the countryside at Quy. It's a lovely pool, inside a converted barn. Usually it's just me and a couple of other swimmers there. Sophie Hannah treat drive me health The brilliant thing about swimming is that, while you're doing it, there's nothing else you could be getting on with, like the ironing or sorting out the children. My mind goes into free-float mode; some of the best ideas for plots come into my head while I'm ploughing up and down the pool. Sophie Hannah best you mind children Agatha Christie never wrote books that just started with a dead body, and a 'Let's find out who the murderer is', which is kind of mysterious but not that mysterious. She always started with, 'How can this thing be happening; isn't it strange?' Sophie Hannah dead never strange body I know a lot of crime writers feel very underrated, like they're not taken seriously, and they want to be just thought of as writers rather than ghettoised as crime writers, but I love being thought of firmly as a crime writer. Sophie Hannah feel thought know love I'm snobby about books that aren't crime fiction: if I start reading a literary novel and there's no mystery emerging in the first few pages, I'm like, 'Gah, this obviously isn't a proper book. Why would I want to carry on reading it?' Sophie Hannah start mystery reading book When a writer tries to copy another writer, it's doomed to fail. Sophie Hannah copy writer fail another Only Agatha Christie can write like Agatha Christie. Sophie Hannah agatha-christie write only like For me, a big part of writing psychological thrillers is choosing crimes committed for motives which would only apply to a particular person in a particular situation; a unique, one-off motive that is born out of someone's particular range of psychological afflictions. Sophie Hannah me situation born unique
