I don't want somebody sucking up to me because they think I am going to help their career. I want them sucking up to me because they genuinely love me.

Making sure that the geography and timelines work is always the hardest part of writing. But you owe it to the readers to get it right!

Nowadays I find chocolate and/or chocolate-based snacks to be great motivators. Everyone loves chocolate. If someone has a lot of work to do, put a piece of fudge in a glass container (so they can see it) and let them know that if they accomplish their tasks, they can eat the fudge. You'll definitely get a reaction!

Some writing courses will advise you to write what you know. I've always thought this is very odd advice ... because it means, for example, that I should not be writing about Nicholas Flamel, because I didn't live in France in the 15th Century, I was not an alchemyst, am not immortal (despite the rumours) and do not know magic.

A warrior with a cause is the most dangerous soldier of all

We do not always get what we want. Sometimes life presents us with surprises.

When it is going well, it is the best job [writing] in the world. For those few hours, you are god, in control of everything. However, for me, the great joy of writing is that it has allowed me to travel the world in search of stories.