For a startling period of my life, I reported the Troubles in Ireland for the BBC. I lived in Dublin and was called out to all sorts of incidents that, if taken together, add up to a war - bombings, assassinations, riots, shootings, robberies, jailbreaks, kidnappings, and sieges.

I believe the world of the spirit is in general greatly neglected and not at all served by the practice of faith as we know it, because religion isn't individual enough.

Marriage is very important. Marrying a girl is the most important thing a man can do. Never mind business or politics or sport or any of that, there's nothing so vital to the world as a man marrying a woman. That's where we get our children from, that's how the human race goes forward. And if it's too late for children, there's the companionship of a safe and trusted person.

The human face does not always reflect the beauty that may repose in the soul.

Marriage is the gold standard of all relationships. It's the currency by which everything is valued.

Writers have opinions - that, in part, is why they write. Therefore they have strong likes and dislikes.

Start with the difficult and when it gets easy, everything else is easier.