I've written something like 17 novels, which isn't bad, I suppose, but my father wrote 120 books, my mother 40. In comparison, I'm lazy. Deborah Moggach badbookcomparison Change image and share on social
I hate fussing about in the kitchen when I have people over to supper, so I make a rich beef stew cooked in wine with carrots, sundried tomato paste and chopped chorizo sausage. Deborah Moggach beefcarrotchop Change image and share on social
I work every day from 9:30 or so until lunchtime. In the afternoons, I become a normal person - go shopping and do the garden and look after my grandchildren. Deborah Moggach afternoondaygarden Change image and share on social
Don't start writing your novel until you know your characters very, very well. What they'd do if they saw somebody shoplifting. What they were like at school. What shoes they wear. Spend days - weeks, months - being them until they thicken up and start to breathe. Deborah Moggach breathecharacterday share on social
I feel as if someone is going to come along, feel my collar and say: 'Do you really think you can get people to read books you've made up about people that don't exist?' Deborah Moggach bookcollarexist Change image and share on social
'Tulip Fever' did change my life. It did that thing that sometimes happens when a book takes off - it opened doors on to whole other worlds. Deborah Moggach bookchangedoor Change image and share on social
I'm mad about gardening. I have an allotment on the other side of Hampstead Heath, and I keep three hens in my garden. Deborah Moggach allotmentgardenhampstead Change image and share on social
I have four Rhode Island Red hens. I get two eggs from them a day. They're feathered dustbins that eat leftover food and weeds, and they're easy to look after - I throw some grain at them in the morning, take the eggs and that's it. I love the sound of clucking. Deborah Moggach cluckdaydustbin share on social
It was very liberating, living in a foreign country, a place where everything was new and strange - the food, the customs, the climate, everything. Deborah Moggach climatecountrycustom Change image and share on social
You can cycle through London on the side streets, which are less polluted - and much more interesting anyway. Deborah Moggach cycleinterestlondon Change image and share on social
