I do take this insane pleasure in world-building. I get the world in my head, but I have to make sure everyone else gets it.

Writing a novel is like knocking on a door that will never open. You are so desperate to get in, you will say or do anything. You feel: please take my novel.

When I'm out with a group I hide in the corner and get legless. I just make sure my friends shield me.

It is a strange world, Oxford - quite claustrophobic. I was often glad I was only there for eight weeks at a time.

People question what I thought of Oxford. Students used to talk about the 'Oxford bubble' because the place can make you feel cut off from the rest of the world. I would forget there were places like London that were not centred round libraries and essays.

I take all the stress on myself so everyone else can work without stress.