Dance, my darling dance! If you dance then death can't catch you! Nothing bad can touch you! Dance!

Often the true hero and heroines of my books are the houses, the places, the communities where people find a home.

I don't read like other people do - back and forth, across the page. I tend to scan a page at a time.

Lady Dance's music wasn't a magic charm. I'd misunderstood. We had all failed to understand. The song and dance didn't stop us dying. It just stopped the fear of death swallowing us up while we were still alive. 'Rejoice,' came the soft voice of Lady Dance in my mind. 'Watch the moon and stars...' Death had ruled my life till I met Lady Dance. Her dance had set me free.

Books aren't like broccoli. You don't have to eat it because it's good for you. Books drag you in because they are fascinating.

The song and dance didn't stop us dying. It just stopped the fear of death swallowing us up while we were still alive.

I'd love to see a new form of social security ... everyone taught how to grow their own; fruit and nut trees planted along every street, parks planted out to edibles, every high rise with a roof garden, every school with at least one fruit tree for every kid enrolled.