People make interesting assumptions about the profession. The writer is a mysterious figure, wandering lonely as a cloud, fired by inspiration, or perhaps a cocktail or two.

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.

My father could talk about the Romany way of life and its culture. He could talk about freedom and the Scottish spirit. But that was all he could talk about. I was desperate for someone to talk to but there was just nobody there.

Scotland consistently produces world-class writers.

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

Scotland just isn't terribly Tory.

A book is a story, even if it's non-fiction, and once I've read it, I have the story with me inside my head always.