There may be certain genres that men dominate, but fiction not so much. The question of prizes is tricky because there are so many prizes.

I think I read Susan Brownmiller's classic book called "Femininity" when I was about 16. So yeah, it's been part of my mindset since a very early age. To me, what's crucial is to tell women's stories but also to tell them in a way that is fearless.

The Collector [John Fowles book] does such a good job of capturing the mindset of a capturer, and also that's become a banal trope of every second crime novel: the weirdo, fetishistic watcher/stalker/kidnapper/kidnapper of women or children.

The great thing about a short story is that it doesn't have to trawl through someone's whole life; it can come in glancingly from the side.

Writers should be applauded for their ability to make things up.

When I tell her what I’m thinking and she tells me what she’s thinking, our each ideas jumping into the other’s head, like coulouring blue crayon on top of yellow that makes green.

You cannot predict literary success; the only way you can possibly aim for it is to do your thing and do it well.