One good reason for writing novels based on your life is that you have something to read in old age when you've forgotten what happened.

Adults get more confused by social worker jargon. Unlike children, they are also less likely to see two sides of an argument, and they no longer think they can make the world a better place. That can make them rather boring, I suppose.

But I don't write about sex for today's teenagers. Or Doc Martens boots either. I'm more interested in exploring how exactly the world is run, which doesn't really change that much from one generation to another.

If you are going to make companies, corporations, actually responsible for the safety of other people's lives, then if they fail in their duty, the only thing to prevent them failing in their duty is the fear that they would be put behind bars.

I would hate to live in the country, unless I was living on a farm.

I am not a victim. I am an angry survivor.

People who don't read seem to me mysterious. I don't know how they think or learn about other people. Novels are a very important part of our education.