I'm very finicky about when I'm in the right mood to write. So most days, I find some excuse not to do anything.

I've never really understood that whole thing of writers avoiding other writers' novels while they're working on their own.

It seems to me that the basic plot of all historical novels is a romance swept aside by history.

There are probably a couple of things I'd never write about until everyone I know is dead. And then there's other stuff which nobody would want to read a book about anyway.

I read 'The Good Soldier' by Ford Madox Ford again every so often.

There's never a bad time to put earplugs in. They're the kind of thing you can reject as a bit lame, but somebody told me to do start wearing earplugs and it turned out to be great advice.

Plot is tremendously important to me: I can't stand books where nothing happens, and I can't imagine ever writing a novel without at least one murder.