At an early school, when I was about 5, they asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. Everyone said silly things, and I said I wanted to be an actress. So that was what I wanted to be, but what I was, of course, was a writer.

Condemned and executioner with aren't coupled in a primitive rite.

I like films, or some films, and would be intrigued to see my work on screen.

It's lovely. I hate it.

The humble were the elect of God. Did not the priests teach so, in their gemmed, kingly robes, from their towering pulpits?

The other writer who had a very important early influence on me when I was about 17 was C.S. Lewis.

I hate the way, once you start to know someone, care about them, their behavior can distress you, even when it's unreasonable and not your fault, even if you were really trying to be careful, tactful.