My greatest regret as a writer is that I've never been able to include as many jokes as I'd like.

I was a political journalist; I came to writing novels through an interest in politics and power.

But only a fool sails into combat with nature

Don't try to write too much in a single session. One thousand words a day is quite enough. Stop after about four or five hours.

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

If long hitting is the thing that causes the spectators to whistle through their teeth in wonderment, why not play tournaments up and down an expansive stadium?

Cicero most reminds me of Harold Wilson. Both men knew how to keep the show on the road.