“Dawn was written well before 9/11. People speak a lot today about the banality of evil, but not all evil is banal.”

In one book, CACHALOT, just for my own amusement, every character is based directly on someone I have known.

The storm hit with all the fury of a woman who’d been dieting for six months, only to discover she’d gained four pounds.

Enjoying consciousness every now and then for a second or so before splitting up to become bits and pieces of trees and stars and french fries.

Where lies the line between sorcery and science? It is only a matter of terminology, my friend.

I would hope that my characters have become deeper and more rounded personalities.

Growing up, I never gave a thought to being a writer.

Last year I went to a worldcon for the first time in two decades. I may go again this year.

Wider travels have given me considerably greater insight into how cultural differences affect not only people, but politics and art.

The overwhelming triumph of the international multimedia conglomerate has resulted in less diversity within the field and has made it much harder for newer writers not only to break in, but to make any kind of a living while doing so.

Writing allows me the time to travel and see the world, which is what I always wanted to do.

Science-fiction allowed me to go places that were otherwise inaccessible, which is why I started reading it.

I hear entire symphonies, oratorios, in my head, but I can’t write a note.

Getting from page four to page five is more important than spending three weeks getting page four perfect.

There’s certainly more new SF available than when I started writing.

I’d really like to have been Sir Richard Francis Burton, but it’s the wrong century.

Spontaneity is one of the joys of existence, especially if you prepare for it in advance.