I've worked for law firms, I've worked for corporations, and for the past 20 years, I've been writing working for myself, and believe me it's a lot better. That's a big part of the James Bond panache, that you're responsible, 100 percent responsible, for the success or failure of your mission in life, whatever it is.

Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.

If you have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniques you'll be able to write - as long as you know what you want to say

For me a thriller is a very carefully structured story.

It means working harder to do the research but I don't really mind - I don't think I have what it takes to chase criminals through back alleys and wade through blood at crime scenes.

In general, I think, less is more, and that if a reader stops reading because a book is too icky then I've failed in my obligation to the readers.

Ideally, I like to integrate the human issues into the suspense story itself.