Looking around, I saw so many unhappy adults, people who loathed their jobs, and I didn't want to be one of them.

I don't necessarily want to make people stomp and clap. I simply want to engage people.

Whenever we changed schools, we had to make a new set of friends. At the time, of course, I hated it. But looking back now, I'm really glad I did, because it forces independence on you.

Many's the dead author whose body of work has been marred by overzealous publishers or family members. If this happens to me, I vow to seek out the responsible parties and haunt them to the point of death.

'The Sisters Brothers' has endeared so many prize juries because the Western format has more of a broad appeal and is familiar to readers.

As a reader I want to be present and entertained. I don't want to be taught lessons, and I don't want to be spoken down to. I want to be treated as a peer and to be made to feel welcome.