It's true to say that once I've got the bare bones of a story, I often get ideas from my own research trips to faraway places.

I'm quite happy trekking around Greenland on my own, but those big book tours in America or the Far East are the only time I ever really feel lonely.

I get ideas from my own personal experiences, from my imagination, and from my research and from old stories.

Doing field trips rather than simply researching online allows me to experience the story from the point of view of my main character; you can't get that by sitting at a desk.

Why do so many children love the idea of being snowed in or shipwrecked, of having to survive on one's own? When I was a child, I was no exception. I wanted to hunt with a bow and arrow like the Stone Age people: to skin deer and build my own shelter. And I desperately wanted a wolf. As we lived in London, my options were limited.

People say I have my own Cinderella story, and in a way, I guess I do.