Donna Tartt

Sometimes you can do all the right things and not succeed. And that's a hard lesson of reality.

I think it's hard to write about children and to have an idea of innocence.

Well, I do have some maiden aunts that are not quite like the aunts in the book, but I definitely do have a couple of them, and a couple of old aunties.

Basically, I've always had a complex with the way I walk. I've not always been told I've got a bad walk, but someone's always commented on my walk.

It's good to like yourself, and that only comes from hard work, from doing. But vanity is dangerous; it can trip you badly.

It's hard to imagine anyone interested in film not being a fan of Alfred Hitchcock because he's such a key influence on the entire history of cinema - it's hard to escape his shadow.