I look at the great poets of the Soviet Union, like Anna Akhmatova, who endured far worse then anything we've seen or hopefully that we will ever see. If they could keep writing and keep a voice alive, keep people hopeful through their poetry, then I would be ashamed to stop and to give in. It would be really self-indulgent, unacceptable, and inexcusable to walk away from it.

No agent wants to see a book until he or she has decided whether to pursue the relationship

I'm very honoured that there is a loyal following and I hope it continues

The day of the march, we were forbidden to go to the march site. The man I worked for, the Presbyterian minister, knew we would want to be sort of martyrs for the cause and risk arrest. He didn't want any of that going on. So he made us stay in the neighborhood.

I'm at the atheist end of the agnostic spectrum.

I had wanted to write Ghost Country for a long time, but it wouldn't work.

I think Peter Dickinson is hands down the best stylist as a writer and the most interesting storyteller in my genre.