He was here about a year before he moved in with me, and we were the sixth actual house he'd been in in a year's time.

We kind of became his parents for that time, and he was great to have in the home — he followed all the rules, he always worked during the summer, he did whatever needed to be done.

I couldn't even understand her. I wasn't sure what she was saying to us. Here is a 19-year old girl with a 1-year old baby. I don't know how you even deal with that.

I love long sentences. My big heroes of fiction writing are Henry James and Proust - people who recognise that life doesn't consist of declarative statements, but rather modifications, qualifications and feelings.

'The Asylum Dance' was written after I'd moved back to Scotland and was a response to moving to my old home area of Fife.

The fabric of a garden is determined as much by its textures as by its tonal range and architectural flair.