The best moment is when you walk into a bookstore and see a pile of your books - that is the oddest experience in the world!

The Elders had nothing but contempt for human emotion; they considered it their biggest weakness. Perenelle knew it was humankind's greatest strength.

Perenelle shuddered. "You know I hate leprechauns more than almost anything.

Books are just dead words on paper and it is the readers who bring the stories alive. Previously, writers wrote a book and sent it out into the world. A couple of months after publication letters from readers might arrive. And, leaving aside the professional reviews, it is really the reader's opinions that the writer needs. They vote for a book - and a writer - with their hard earned cash every time they go into a bookstore (or online - that's my age showing!) and buy a book.

I published my first book in 1982 - a collection of Irish folklore called Irish Folk & Fairy Tales. It is still in print today. My first young adult book was published a couple of years later, and I've been writing in both genres ever since.

And in their rush to create wonders, they have ignored the wonders all around them, ignored the mysteries, the beauty.

To remain unknown in this modern world: that, indeed, is real power.