I have never been a critic of science fiction as a whole.

I do think that short story writing is often a matter of luck.

I'm not too fond of the hard work and the constant battle with self-doubt that goes on when I write, but I figure that's part of the territory.

I have never been a critic of science fiction as a whole.

The British audience was very important to me. I have always looked away from American to non-American audiences and so this was important.

As far as the mechanics go, working with other people on received ideas was for me a very interesting technical problem. I can't say that any of my collaborations engaged my heart, but they engaged the craftsman in me.

It takes me a long time to get with a landscape. It took me 20 years before I wrote anything about Ibiza, and I haven't written about Oregon yet, although I've been there 20 years - possibly I'm almost due.