I’m really lucky with the people around me. They know me, so they don’t confuse the issues really. They know what a book is and they know who I am and they know the difference between the two.

People whose lives are upside down often read fiction. When you're not sure where you'll end up or how you are going to be, and you're looking for some way forward, fiction is a great friend.

I have no place left to live but in my own heart.

Remember, if you sit at your desk for 15 or 20 years, every day, not counting weekends, it changes you. It just does. It may not improve your temper, but it fixes something else. It makes you more free.

We do not always like the people we love- we do not always have that choice.

One of the reasons I write is I like being surprised

The only way to write a book, I’m fond of telling people, is to actually write a book. That’s how you write a book.