We don't like admitting this, but it is a key component of human existence: the fact that life has the potential for things both wondrous and horrific.

There is much to be said for solitude.

Success is a very fragile veneer. I get wary of people who embrace celebrity. It ruins people.

With a novel, no matter where I am in it, I'm fretting about it. Every time I write a book, it starts with great forward momentum. Then there seems to be a period where it slows down a bit, and other things intervene. Then I gain momentum.

The only time you truly become an adult is when you finally forgive your parents for being just as flawed as everyone else.

The decision to write full time was made when I was twenty-eight years old and had just had two small plays accepted for BBC Radio.

We all want to fix things. Just as we all believe that so much in life can be rectified. Mend fences, build bridges, reach out, engage in mutual healing.