My theory is that I decided to be a writer when I was about seven, but of course it is not as simple as that. Like most writers, I had to work at other things to earn a living and wrote mainly in the evenings, often very late at night, for many years.

I hope I am not too repetitive. However, coming to terms with death is part of the general human situation.

I, personally, have found reading a continual support to writing.

People can say what they like about the eternal verities, love and truth and so on, but nothing's as eternal as the dishes.

In a way, the characters often do take over.

I know things are unbearable but in spite of that we have to bear them.

Reading is very creative - it's not just a passive thing. I write a story; it goes out into the world; somebody reads it and, by reading it, completes it.