You find out what you think by talking to yourself.

I write as well as I can. I'm a journalist at heart, so it's the story that matters.

A book unwritten is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody book that’s ever been written.

I've always just wanted to earn my living by writing. The best thing is to go into my study in the morning and stay there and put words together.

It's when you've stopped writing and are doing other things, especially when you're asleep, that the real work is done.

A police state is a country run by criminals

In a way I'm almost more rueful about the notion of having a non-ideological Labour party than I am about the personality of Tony Blair.