Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our lives today.

The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.

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

The new contract between writers and readers is one I'm prepared to sign up to. I've met some fascinating people at events and online. Down with the isolation of writers I say! And long live Twitter.

Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble.

At the end of the day, that's what a family is - a group of different people who accept each other.

Scotland consistently produces world-class writers.