I have a very serious censorship office inside my head; it censors things that I could tell you that you would never forget, and I don't want to be the person to stick that in your brain.
I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.
You can't make accommodations in crucial situations and be heroic.
The best Paris I know now is in my head.
Once you have your characters, they tell you what to write, you don't tell them.
My novels are about the European reality, not about chases. You want chases, get somebody else's books.