‘Research allows us to write about subjects which we are not already experts in… It allows writing to be imbued with the kinds of details which bring the reader into the worlds we’ve created and make those worlds fascinating.’

‘Reading YA as a young person empowered me with the language to talk about things that I didn’t know how to talk about. I found a library of reference for my many emotions and experiences.’

‘Research has given me characters and their stories and if the synopsis is the bones of my novel, research helps me put flesh on those bones.’

‘I’m a strong believer in the stimulating qualities of limitations: the more constraints you have to work within, the more creative you have to be; the less room you have to overthink, the better.’

‘Poetry has many different forms and poets approach poetry in different ways, just as musicians and painters vary in the ways in which they approach their art forms.’

‘Dirt Town started as a short story. I wrote about a group of small-town kids, describing all the different ways they’d made their way home from school on a Friday afternoon. After I’d written that, it occurred to me that there needed to be a reason for them to be talking about that day, in particular.’

‘I’ve always loved the notion of a detective of some kind coming into a community to investigate a terrible crime, and sifting through all the chaos and turning things upside-down in their quest to find truth, and justice for the town, then restoring it to a kind of temporary peace (until next time).’

‘Having a background in research helps me apply methods for gathering and assessing information necessary to ground my work and colour my stories with fascinating historical details.’

“Research is all about venturing into the unknown and developing an understanding of the world you are writing about in a way that means you can make it real for your readers as well.”