I'm not a morning person: I can't function until I've had a coffee - or several.

One of the big breakthroughs I had as a writer was when I stopped agonising over every word.

We've had science fiction novels where China is dominant; we've had novels where India is dominant, and I suppose it's all about getting away from that cliched old tired idea that the future belongs to the West.

I have to have coffee in the morning.

I've never had much interest in spinoffery - the idea of writing in someone else's universe generally leaves me cold - but 'Doctor Who' is different. I've grown up with it. It's been part of my life since I was tiny, watching Jon Pertwee on a grainy black and white television in Cornwall and being terrified out of my mind.

Just little things they do—like getting up and making the coffee every morning—helps. But they are working, too. They come in and lighten the load just by sharing the load.