I go by the gut. I might not appear to have any talent but I've got plenty of gut instinct.

I don't think of myself as an artist. I'm just a guy who can write.

Crying is personal. On the other hand, laughing is more general . Laughing makes our hearts wider.

Sometimes we don't need words. Rather, it's words that need us.

The honour of physical decline is waiting, and you have to get used to that reality.

I always write my novels with music (I don't listened to the music seriously.) Music seems to encourage me.

I can't imagine how American readers will react to a novel, but if the story is appealing it doesn't matter much if you don't catch all the detail. I'm not too familiar with the geography of nineteenth century London, for instance, but I still enjoy reading Dickens.