Halfway through primary school, I realised that I was not as physically strong or fearless as many kids. So, in situations of conflict, I quickly learned that it worked better for me to get out of situations or maybe kind of, you know, prevail in a conflict situation by using humour than by trying to punch somebody out.

I've always been aware that to be named after someone from the past carries with it all kinds of bittersweetness.

I've always been interested in setting my stories against a big event, the importance of which my younger readers are slowly becoming aware of as they move into their teens.

Stories can bring alive the moral universe in a very vivid, useful, engaging way.

No other human being, no woman, no poem or music, book or painting can replace alcohol in its power to give man the illusion of real creation.

It's important to have an imagination.

Greece was a muse. It inspired creativity in magical ways that I can't even begin to understand or explain.

I think film writing, you're thinking in pictures, and stage writing, you're thinking in dialogue. In film writing, it's also, you only get so many words, so everything has to earn its place in a really economical way. I think for stage writing, you have more leeway.