I felt very much like a hooker who had just been told she was a lady of the evening.

But he did not understand the price. Mortals never do. They only see the prize, their heart's desire, their dream... But the price of getting what you want, is getting what you once wanted.

What are these fundamental principles, if they are not atoms?" "Stories. And they give me hope.

I was always so relieved that anyone wants to publish anything I've written.

Imagine a mosaic picture of a house in the country: lots of red and blue and yellow and black and brown and white and a dozen different shades of green tiles which make a beautiful picture if you stand back far enough. All the little red squares are true - true things, true places, true feelings. But the red squares aren't the picture. All the rest of it is lies and stories, often within the same sentence.

Going off the grid is always good for me. It's the way that I've started books and finished books and gotten myself out of deadline dooms and things.

People can get involved in wonderfully creative ways that have nothing to do with you, but spark off things you begin with.