‘This isn’t about clouds parting to beam in words channelled by angelic beings… so much as the process of story-making becoming magnetic and natural. One of the most gratifying elements of writing is getting out of the way of ourselves, to discover what we didn’t know we knew. This happens when we write words and ideas that we might not have believed ourselves consciously capable of constructing.’

‘[Making a bestseller] is the mysterious combination of all those factors: the right time, the right place, a compelling story and the role of the publisher in making the most of opportunities.’