My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And that's basically a conservative view of life.

Take naps. Often new ideas come together when you are half asleep, but you have to train yourself to remember them.

Writing novels is an essentially amateur activity.

Hungry ears are sharp ones.

Before I write a novel, images float around in my head that work like icons - they are meaningless in themselves, but serve as reminders.

After a long day, folk rest at night. After a long summer, folk play games and sit about in the winter. After a long life folk sit about the fire and stay warm, for the chill of death is upon them, and even the thickest bearskin can't keep off the shivering.

I have reared, or helped to rear, five children and the scariest bit, bar none, is the learning to drive part. It has filled me with anxiety not only about the children, but also about my former self and my friends.