At my age it is unseemly to be pessimistic.

Hosni Mubarak... his constitution is not democratic, but he is democratic. We can voice our opinions now. The press is free.

As the tension eases, we must look in the direction of agriculture, industry and education as our final goals, and toward democracy under Mr Mubarak.

There are no heroes in most of my stories. I look at our society with a critical eye and find nothing extraordinary in the people I see.

"Death by love is fairer by far than death by illness", said Amenhotep III.

The heart is a place of secrets.

It is simply not part of my culture to preserve notes. I have never heard of a writer preserving his early drafts.