I think there is an awful lot of technology for technology's sake. I have yet to be convinced by my husband that persuading our mobiles to talk to our computers is going to be quicker and more straightforward than scribbling a note in our kitchen diary.

Love is the driver for all great stories: not just romantic love, but the love of parent for child, for family, for country.

Marriage is a decades-long experiment, conducted mostly in private; a test of will in the face of unexpected obstacles.

For every book that I write... I develop a history for each person and make sure they are well rounded and flawed. You have to know everything about them from their shoe size, to where they went to school, to what their first pet was, to what they like to eat, to what they want out of life.