For me books have always been an incredibly solid part of my life, both as escapism and simply as resource.

For me books have always been an incredibly solid part of my life, both as escapism and simply as resource.

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.

Morning: Slept. Afternoon: Slept. Evening: Ate grass. Night: Ate grass. Decided grass is boring. Scratched. Hard to reach the itchy bits. Slept.

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

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.

I'm very close to my parents. I admire them and respect them enormously. But my childhood unfortunately coincided with the end of their marriage. They are two people who should never, ever have got married.