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.

Trying to write books with a subject matter or in a genre or style you're not familiar with is the best way to find the Big Block looming.

But one does not make living writing poetry unless you're a professor, and one frankly doesn't get a lot of girls as a poet.

Robert Rotenberg does for Toronto what Ian Rankin does for Edinburgh.

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.

My books are primarily plot driven but the best plot in the world is useless if you don't populate them with characters that readers can care about.

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.