Oh-do be careful with that! That's my Buddha hand grenade. Twist the head twice and throw it and anyone within ten yards can say their prayers.

I believe that, by and large, people are good and everybody you meet is more likely to surprise you in a positive way than in a negative way.

Authors have odd relationships with their creations They owe their fame and fortune to their characters but feel enslaved by them.

"I think my reputation will look after itself," Holmes said. "If they hang me, Watson, I shall leave it to you to persuade your readers that the whole thing was a misunderstanding."

You must have been going very fast." "I was, until I hit the fence.

The birds fly in the wrong places and there are too many stars in the sky.

My writing has always been what you call 'narrative fiction' in the sense that it's got very strong plots and twists at the end.