Everybody's idea of a great book is different, of course. For me it's one that makes my jaw drop on every page, the writing is so original.

Here's my rule: You always want to pay cash for your own books, because if they look at the name on the credit card and then they look at the name on the book jacket, then there's this look of such profound sympathy for you that you had to resort to this. It really is withering.

My humour has always come from anger, but I have to make sure I don't just get angry and jump on a soapbox.

I think it's always good for the author to stay a good cattle prod's distance from the actual moviemaking.

My books are character-driven. They're not driven by the story.

I think in the old days, the nexus of weirdness ran through Southern California, and to a degree New York City. I think it's changed so that every bizarre story in the country now has a Florida connection. I don't know why, except it must be some inversion of magnetic poles or something.

Obviously you have to make a profit to put out a newspaper. I'm not an idiot. But when the margins are in excess of 25 per cent you're talking about greed.