I've always been fascinated by books. When I was young, my grandfather used to hand out a book - which would be anything from a biography to a classic - to me every week and ask me to write a piece on what I thought about it. On the other hand, my mother used to love reading thrillers and bestsellers.

Writing was my route to creative expression, and I needed to write about the things that interested me.

In order to become the master, a ruler must profess to be a servant of the people.

Admiration from my readers inspire me, and the only 'formula' I believe in towards making a good writer is: 'to thine own self be true!'

A book and a movie are different animals. You need a cinematic perspective to be involved in the motion pictures. And this is something I lack.

I like to joke that I probably hold the world record for rejection letters. Yes, the truth is that I was fed up of being rejected repeatedly, and self-publicatio n was an act of defiance at traditional publishing. But life works in strange ways.

Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are.