I read The Old Curiosity Shop before I began Blackwood Farm. I was amazed at the utter madness in that book.

Re-telling the Christian story is the essence of my vocation. That has been going on since the Evangelists in one form or another.

Evil is always possible. Goodness is a difficulty.

Obsession led me to write. It's been that way with every book I've ever written. I become completely consumed by a theme, by characters, by a desire to meet a challenge.

It has been a long journey, but if you dream and have the ambition and want to work hard, then you can achieve.

My advice to fledgling entrepreneurs is always the same: build a company that you plan to be with for the next 10 years - that is the best way to increase your chances of success.

I think I have slowly kind of had my name out there a little bit more and had some success.

We were surrounded by influences and interests that came between Stephen and me. The nurse who became his wife was seeking to undermine me, and there were wider influences, too, following the runaway success of 'A Brief History of Time.'