Suddenly those 20,000 words were much more than a modest start. They were a teaser to the book I’d almost finished. I ended up interviewing agents for two solid weeks.

"I could not extract one positive comment from the eight page report, but do you know what? It made me even more determined to write a publishable novel."

"Far from helping me to enrich my novel, research was stopping me from writing a good one."

There are benefits to be found in removing the notion that writing requires writing space, and in writing fiction around ongoing human life.

Writers dig alone time. It’s our bread and butter. It gives us time to write, to think, to observe, to read…to walk around in our pants.

"Tell your new idea you appreciate it but explain firmly and kindly that you are busy right now and will get to it when you are done with your current project."

'The start of your writer’s journey is not the time for limitations; it’s the time for possibility.'

My dad was an international pot smuggler. His organisation was responsible for shipping hundreds of tons of Thai stick into America. He was good at it, at least, until he wasn’t.

'That is what a translator is: a conveyor of emotions. A guide who leads the readers into the author’s world.'

'Don’t be afraid to learn hard truths and ditch an idea that hasn’t worked, it is never wasted time.'