Permission to disregard your orders, Underqueen."
"Permission not granted. Permission categorically denied.

I’m glad you’re quitting the bar."

"You are?"

"Yeah. I’ve never liked you working there, and I miss you at the weekend."

"Why didn’t you say anything?"

"Because you seemed happy. It’s sort of my life mission to make sure you stay that way," he teased.

What I will tell you is that you cannot force yourself to mourn. Sometimes, the best way to honour the dead is to simply keep living.

My English teachers gave me a copy of Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' when I left high school, which has always been very special to me - it was the novel that introduced me to dystopian fiction. I'm also influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, Dickens, John Wyndham and Middle English dream-visions.

London had so much death in its history, it was hard to find a spot without spirits. They formed a safety net. Still, you had to hope the ones you got were good.

My silver cord - the link between my body and my spirit - was extremely sensitive. It was what allowed me to sense dreamscapes at a distance. It could also snap me back into my skin.