Those books of mine that are remunerative - I'm not talking about poetry here - take years to write, and I am never sure they'll be successful. So writing is a risk in more senses than one.

I don't pick and choose subjects or settings; they pick and choose me.

I am certainly not allergic to causes - particularly on subjects such as religious intolerance.

I want my books to sell, to be read. I'm not interested in being obscure.

I think it's possible to be multi-rooted, rather like a banyan tree, without being deracinated.

I need my natural laziness to be counteracted by obsession in order to do anything.

I have a reputation for being hermitlike. I'm not. I'm just obsessed with my work.