A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character.

I'm a library user and I just don't hoard books. To me, they're for sharing.

Scotland consistently produces world-class writers.

Writers need each other.

As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective.

Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble.

To me, reading through old letters and journals is like treasure hunting. Somewhere in those faded, handwritten lines there is a story that has been packed away in a dusty old box for years.