There are many things in life that cannot be explained.

Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child.

Sometimes it's the tiniest things that can mean the difference between life and death.

But then, he thought, most politicians are small and shabby, the sort of people who have been bullied at school. That's why they become politicians.

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

I hear it still. As I lay down my pen and take to my bed, I am aware of the bow being drawn across the bridge and the music rises into the night sky. It is far away and barely audible - but there it is! A pizzicato. Then a tremelo. The style is unmistakable. It is Sherlock Holmes who is playing. It must be. I hope with all my heart that he is playing for me . . .

A German philosopher once wrote that he who fights monsters must take care that he doesn't become one himself.