My great-grandfather was a self-taught man, and his library was extraordinary. I read the lot.

The job of a storyteller is to speak the truth. But what we feel most deeply can’t be spoken in words alone. At this level, only images connect. And here, story becomes symbol; symbol is myth. And myth is truth.

When you start, the world of publishing seems like a great cathedral citadel of talent, resisting attempts to let you inside. It isn't like that at all. It may be more difficult now, and take longer than when I started to write, but there's a great, empty warehouse out there looking for simple talent.

I love research so much that I do an enormous amount; it helps put off the moment of starting to write the story.

I learnt that I must never finish a book with nothing else to do.

My great-grandfather was a self-taught man, and his library was extraordinary. I read the lot.

When a monkey nibbles on a weenis, it's funny in any language.