I write four books a year. I'm very fortunate that I write quickly; around 3,500 words a day. Being strict about delineating my writing time and personal life, as well as keeping distractions at bay, is the only way I can accomplish this.

None of us knows how we will cope with snakes until the moment arises, and then most of us find out that we do not do it very well.

A very powerful theme in fiction is that of loss.

But you cannot expect every writer to dwell on human suffering. I think my books do deal with grave issues. People who say they are too positive probably havent read them.

Edinburgh used to be a haughty city.

They're very beautiful, aren't they? Clouds are very beautiful and yet so often we fail to appreciate them properly. We should do that. We should look at them and think about how lucky we are to have them.

There are old mycologists and there are bold mycologists, but there are no old, bold mycologists.