Michael Scott Quotations

I'm probably better known in the US as a YA writer, I have a huge body of adult horror and fantasy behind me.

I was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland and it is still home to me. My writing has taken me all over the world, but this is the place I come back to and the place where I find it easiest to write.

I published my first book in 1982 - a collection of Irish folklore called Irish Folk & Fairy Tales. It is still in print today. My first young adult book was published a couple of years later, and I've been writing in both genres ever since.

I was brought up in a home where I saw my parents read and I was taken to bookshops and libraries, so I grew up feeling very comfortable around books. Also, Ireland is a country which has honoured its writers and poets, so when someone says they wanted to be a writer, its not mocked or looked down upon.

The only time I set the bar low is for limbo.

That is as true for fiction or non-fiction. The writer has to really know their subject. It is really important to remember that the readers are a lot smarter than the writer. Also, good writing has to do with rewriting. You will never get it right the first time. So you rewrite and rewrite again until you get it right. Until you, and the reader, will be able to visualize what you're writing about.

I never avoid something that challenges my guts and my heart. While I might occasionally puke my guts out, I have never puked my heart out.

I am Michael, and I am part English, Irish, German, and Scottish, sort of a virtual United Nations.

Great change always comes down to the actions of a single person.

And once begun, change cannot be reversed.