For better or worse, I've been involved in the description of political conflict.

In itself, the practice of deception is not particularly exacting; it is a matter of experience, of professional expertise, it is a facility most of us can acquire.

When you're my age and you see a story, you better go for it pretty quickly. I'd just like to get a few more novels under my belt.

People who've had very unhappy childhoods are pretty good at inventing themselves. If nobody invents you for yourself, nothing is left but to invent yourself for others.

By the age of 9 or 10, I knew that I had to cut my own cloth and make my own way.

I grew up in a completely bookless household. It was my father's boast that he had never read a book from end to end.

I've never been able to write a book without one very strong character in my rucksack.