I had an all-Fear of Music iPod, just versions of the 11 songs from the record. No other songs allowed.

It's now expected of me that I will defy expectation, so I really generally seem to be free to write what I want.

My writing life is pretty simple - I try to work every day, almost always in the mornings - and I can only write fiction effectively for about three or at the most four hours. No big mysteries, I just sit down and try to advance the cause a little bit every day.

What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer most wants. Not repeating myself and doing strange things has become my trademark.

Writing is physical for me. I always have the sense that the words are coming out of my body, not just my mind.

I want what we all want," said Carl. "To move certain parts of the interior of myself into the exterior world, to see if they can be embraced.

But the day I can't shrug off a twinge of self-pity, is the day I'm washed up for keeps.