Organizer is kind of a grand term for what I was doing.

And the fury in my community was just staggering. The young priests in the parish were behind the message. The older priests weren't necessarily, but they all followed the orders of the cardinal and read the letter. Every Sunday, 2,000 people came to mass at that parish. The following Sunday, the attendance dropped to 200, and never recovered.

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

Most people don't have the money to spend on advertising to create awareness among readers, nor do they have the contacts at newspapers or magazines to get their books reviewed.

You have to be a ruthless editor of your own prose. Over the years, I've learned that the best way to incorporate research into the narrative is to turn it into action.

I realised I'd never climb Everest but thought I could still write a book

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