There has been corruption in the Belgian civil service and at government level for decades. The Royal family do what they can to hold things together, and they don't do a bad job.

I never know exactly where I'm going with a story, whether it's a short story or a novel. If I did I'd soon grow bored of it. The fun, for me, is in the finding out and the making sense of it.

I have no patience with up-themselves authors who complain about having to trail round a few bookshops signing stock.

I love experimental writing, when it's good, and good examples are much more likely to be found in the short form.

I always have lots of zany ideas for promotional stuff as publication nears.

I've written over 100 short stories. You could say I'm obsessed with short stories.

The short story feels like the most natural length for prose fiction, or certainly for the kind of ideas and situations I like to encounter.