Books exist for me not as physical entities with pages and binding, but in the province of my mind.

It is one of the benchmarks of a culture I always think – the page at which it operates. A good way to measure it is to order a taxi and see how irate local people get if it is late.

Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.

Writing about the 1950s has given me tremendous respect for my mother's generation.

I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. I've met some wonderful people and discovered that however arcane some of my interests that there are people out there who are interested too.

Scotland consistently produces world-class writers.

It is through our extended family that we first learn to compromise and come to an understanding that even if we don't always agree about things we can still love and look out for each other.