A first novel should be brash and ambitious, and announce the arrival of a new talent.
I've never really had any trouble coming up with ideas; they just grow, like weeds. The weeding is the hard part.
It seems to me that most people are interested in reading about characters who are richer than they are.
I'm as much my own master as anyone can be, without being the master of others. I can write anywhere - all I need is a couple of hours of solitude and a computer, and I can write a chapter. Since my work is portable, I can live anywhere I like.