What you eat is the most political thing you do every day

Yes, the past is another country, but one that we can visit, and once there we can bring back the things we need.

My books always begin with a sentence and an image - not necessarily connected.

I've never been tempted by God but I like his trappings.

As people get older they have these rigid patterns that they impose on themselves, and it kills them. They become dull, they become dead to new experience, they become afraid, biased, and bigoted. It's really simply to do with refusing new experience.

There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value.

It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer to get noticed and to get some sales. It can also be a pain in the arse because it gets in the way of the quiet, contemplative time every writer needs, but which is particularly important when you are a new writer finding your own voice, and pursuing the things that interest you.