The things that have always drawn me to the craft of writing is character, it's story, it's something that becomes like a pebble in my shoe, a voice that I just can't get rid of, and I've got to see it through.

I don't listen to music when I write - I find it distracting.

I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.

Usually in films, when Muslims pray, it's either before or after they've blown something up.

Sad stories make good books

Educate yourself, learn about what refugees face when they don't have homes, after they have lost everything.

Kabul was very popular with the hippies in the Sixties and Seventies. It was very quiet and peaceful.