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

One cannot always marry the person one loves.

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

People think that I'm very serious.

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

Actually, I can write anywhere - airport lounges, in bed, on a rattling train going north.