Top 30 Sophie Kinsella Quotes

I’ve never written a children’s book, but when people meet me for the first time and I say I write books, they invariably reply, ‘Children’s books?’ Maybe it’s something about my face.

I think a lot of people still fantasise about that first love and what might happen if they rekindled the relationship.

I can’t cook. I don’t have the right brain for it, somehow. I can’t walk into a room and tidy it up. I get distracted. I pick up one thing and I start looking at it. And my cooking is truly heinous.

If my writing comes to a halt, I head to the shops: I find them very inspirational. And if I get into real trouble with my plot, I go out for a pizza with my husband.

The great thing about being a novelist is that you organize your own day.

Philosophy wasn’t about facts, it was about ideas. My first essay title was something like: ‘How can you know what other people are thinking?’ I thought, ‘Wow, what an amazing thing.’ I really thought deeply for the first time.

I’m very lucky. I have a really supportive husband in Henry, and there’s my mum, too. I couldn’t have a career and manage the kids’ routines and household thing single-handedly. I’d just go crazy.

I’m an impulse buyer. I don’t really go out with a list.

I never did any training in journalism or in finance, so I really was in the deep end. I got very good at going to press conferences and nodding. I’d figure it out when I got back to the office. Charts and numbers. I’ve never been great with facts, ever, my whole life. For a journalist, that’s not a very good trait.

When I’m on a break from writing, I’ll log on to Amazon and eBay. The doorbell is constantly being rung by deliverymen.

To have someone who never makes a mistake, never finds her personal life in disarray, never worries about work-life balance? I think that would be unreal. What I’m writing is real.

I love all my characters. I love their weaknesses and flaws. I feel like they’re all my best friends and I adore being with them.

I had gone to Oxford to read music. I had done music all my life, but when I got to college I didn’t want to do it anymore.

I’d probably still be a financial journalist now if it weren’t for writing novels. Mmm. Fun! I’m much happier writing novels!

People used to ask me for advice, and I’d say, ‘Please, don’t ask me!’ Yes, I did economics at Oxford, but that’s not the same as having a broad knowledge of personal finance.

I chose to publish the first ‘Shopaholic’ book under a pseudonym because I wanted it to be judged on its own merits.

When I had the idea for ‘Shopaholic’, it was as though a light switched on. I realised I actually wanted to write comedy. No apologies, no trying to be serious, just full-on entertainment. The minute I went with that and threw myself into it, it felt just like writing my first book again – it was really liberating.

I always thought ‘chick lit’ meant third-person contemporary funny novels, dealing with issues of the day. I mean, it’s not the ideal term; when I’m asked to describe what I do, I say I write romantic comedies, cause that’s what I feel they are. But I’m quite pragmatic.

It wasn’t until after college that I started writing. I had just applied randomly for jobs in the media and got one on a magazine called ‘Pensions World.’ So I was writing for a living there and that’s when I started my first book.

Shopping with friends is a great way of still enjoying the thrill of the chase without having to make a purchase. It can also be a real bonding opportunity. Helping your friend find something nice is just as rewarding as helping yourself.

My own life has been doubly disconnected, as I’ve written books under two different names. As an author, your name almost becomes a brand; readers know what to expect.

I don’t think anyone sits down and thinks, ‘I know, I’ll be a chick-lit writer.’ You write the book that you want to write and then other people say, ‘Oh, that’s chick-lit.’ You say, ‘Okay.’ But it’s not like you look around and go to a careers fair and there will be someone at the chick-lit author stand.

The way I write is totally instinctive. I just write what I feel or what I find funny – and hope everyone else agrees.

Being a journalist is good if you want to write books: it teaches you to get beyond the blank screen. My books have been described as froth, but there’s scope to be witty and ironic about everything in life.

To some extent, all authors are a little schizophrenic. We lead most of our lives in solitary confinement, living and breathing the books that we’re writing.

Like most of us, I’m used to juggling about 52 roles in life. Wife. Mother. Sister. Friend. Author. Sometimes I feel a bit ‘multiple-personality’.

If you want something you can’t afford, think what else that money could buy: a week’s groceries, a month’s rent, or a weekend away. That will put things into perspective.

I had no plans to be a writer. My teenaged bid for stardom was to be a pop star… which, ahem, didn’t exactly work out.

I change my mind so much, I’m better going on my own. Shopping is a selfish activity anyway.

My earliest, most impactful encounter with a book was when I was seven and awoke early on Christmas morning to find Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ in my stocking. I had never been so excited by the sight of a book – and have possibly never been since!