Philip couldn't fornicate if you put him in a barrel with three whores.

He was only a boy from a Welsh hill village who had the good fortune to become a monk. Today he would speak to the king. What gave him the right?

I'm a great planner, so before I ever write chapter 1, I work out what happens in every chapter and who the characters are. I usually spend a year on the outline.

For success, the author must make the reader care about the destiny of the principals, and sustain this anxiety, or suspense, for about 100,000 words.

The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest, because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying.

Thrillers have been traditionally very masculine books; the women characters often rather decorative.