My novels come from within me; they are things I feel I want to do.

To claim that music is more important than oxygen would be trite and sentimental. It would also be true.

I write short stories when a little idea occurs to me, that I know isn't a part of a novel that will stand by itself and should be concentrated.

No matter how close to personal experience a story might be, inevitably you are going to get to a part that isn't yours and, actually, whether it happened or not becomes irrelevant. It is all about choosing the right words.

It's a big con job. We have sold the myth of Dublin as a sexy place incredibly well; because it is a dreary little dump most of the time.

Dreaming was only nice while it lasted.

I see people in terms of dialogue and I believe that people are their talk.