The dead leave their shadows, an echo of the space within which once they lived. They haunt us, never fading or growing older as we do. The loss we grieve is not just their futures but our own.

I read a lot of thrillers, especially American crime novels.

There's no black and no white, just shades of grey...But the small betrayals lead to bigger ones, morality is eroded.

Usually I decide on what it is I'm writing next by the books I'm reading.

All prizes have a role, if they are run with integrity and with a clear focus on reading and quality writing. I don't think any of them is necessary, but they all play an incredibly important role in building a body of literature, in introducing new authors to new readers, and extending reading.

There’s only one difference between published and unpublished writers, and it is this -- the first group see their work in print on the shelves of Waterstone’s or Tesco or online at Amazon; the second group are yet to have physical evidence of the hours, weeks, years spent fashioning words into their patterns. You are already a writer.

Too often I am jealous and my jealousy leads me to say things-things-that I regret.