I am very into genealogy and heritage, and that's how I started writing.

It occurred to me at some point that what really links us to the past is memory, and there's so much we've forgotten.

We're naturally afraid of a spider - these are memories that are being chemically passed down through your DNA.

I think the past is something I have spent a lot of time thinking about, not only what is different about the past but what's the same, and what links us to the past.

I am very into genealogy and heritage, and that's how I started writing.

When I was thinking about all the things that the world had forgotten, it made me think about people who have actually really forgotten everything, and how much of our identity is wrapped up in those memories, and how much of our experience makes us who we are, and remembering those experiences makes us who we are.

I think Scotland is probably my spiritual home and I love it there very, very much.