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.

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

Scotland consistently produces world-class writers.

I had loved poetry and the theatre. Now I loved adventure more.

For a novelist, the gaps in a story are as intriguing as material that still exists.

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.