The printing presses of the state treasuries cranked out reams of paper currency- showing wise kinds and blissful martyrs- while bankers wept and peasants starved.

Once you have your characters, they tell you what to write, you don't tell them.

If you can live in Paris, maybe you should.

I don't really write plots. I use history as the engine that drives everything.

I write what I call 'novels of consolation' for people who are bright and sophisticated.

Whether you like it or not, Paris is the beating heart of Western civilisation. It's where it all began and ended.

I'm not really a mass market writer.