I find that most books that I don't like are those in which the authors have indulged themselves. I can almost sense when they're writing something for themselves.

Kids tell me all the time, "I don't know how you do it, but that's us in the book." That's the kind of response you want, and I can't sacrifice it for the sake of somebody worried about censorship. You have to find a way to be truthful and honest.

I write very tightly, and my big fear is boring people. I want them to read quickly, stopped in their tracks. I resist indulging myself.

Family life was wonderful. The streets were bleak. The playgrounds were bleak. But home was always warm. My mother and father had a great relationship. I always felt 'safe' there.

I have always had a sense that we are all pretty much alone in life, particularly in adolescence.

I'm always telling myself as I write that I'm not really writing a novel; I'm just going to fool around with a character or an idea.

A writer must take risks, defy the odds, be a bit obsessed and a little mad.