For a feature in next month's issue of Prog magazine, the photographer spent many hours setting up a photo shoot of me with part of my music collection in my writing office. Since I do most of my writing outside in nature, we felt this shot was most representative.

I've had the same, full-time assistant and typist for eight or nine years now. She's read everything I've written, she types everything and does a good job, translates it and makes comments.

There is grand romance in The Lord of the Rings. It's an important part of epic literature.

Of course you don't make any noise in space, because there's no air.

I think now I'm up to something like 85 different titles that I've published.

One of the things that was kind of shocking for humans... was to come to terms with was the fact that, hey, we may not be the center of the universe.

The real key is time management and being able to focus on what you need to, on using every available minute to accomplish something that needs to be done.