I fill up the well of stories in my head - without ever knowing I'm doing it.

Any story you write about war, or film you make about war, is bound to be political whether you like it or not.

If I learned anything in this life, I've learned that you can't cling on.

If it is possible to be happy in the middle of a nightmare, then Topthorn and I were happy that summer.

There's a mouse in here with me. He's sitting there in the light of the lamp, looking up at me. He seems as surprised to see me as I am to see him. There he goes. I can hear him still, scurrying about somewhere under the hayrick. I think he's gone now. I hope he comes back. I miss him already.

A notion for a story is for me a confluence of real events, historical perhaps, or from my own memory to create an exciting fusion.

Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart.