History - the non-fiction version - must inform the fiction to make it truthful; too much of it and your genres are colliding.

I have prided myself with striving for objectivity, something many literary-minded critics dismiss as impossible. But in Washington, reporters are practically the only people who actually spend time talking to Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, and I find the longer I report in Washington, the mushier and less conclusive my own views are. I like it that way.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but usually fiction is just better.

I hope I will get to novelize my present circumstances at some point. I have some great stories to tell.

For all the worship that Ronald Reagan elicits in conservative circles in the United States, I would venture that Thatcher did far more to reshape British society than Reagan did here.

The professions of novelist and journalist are very separate. As a novelist, you are ultimately working for yourself. Yes, you need the approval of a publisher and an audience, but what is valued in fiction writing - style, individual voice, insight - is scorned by the editor who is combing through your newspaper article.

Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and editors, but in the end, it is up to them to get the book right.