People are always the start for me... animals, when I can get into their heads, gods, supernatural beings, immortals, the dead... these are all people to me.

Pirates have always fascinated me.

I love writers all across the board, but one who influenced me very directly at the beginning was Mary Renault.

I'm writing what comes into my head, or through me, or from somewhere else, and it is the most extraordinary, exciting thing. I love it, and I'm very greedy, and I really enjoy it!

I think of myself as a storyteller, and that is it.

I've been criticised for writing in too complex a manner for younger people.