'Journalist Ida Tarbell almost single-handedly took down the world's most powerful and corrupt company, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil.'

Journalist Ida Tarbell almost single-handedly took down the world's most powerful and corrupt company, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. Rockefeller was a billionaire and pillar of the establishment. Tarbell was the outsider.

'I suspect there are very few of you who've read everything I've written. Not least because I write across quite different forms.'

I suspect there are very few of you who've read everything I've written. Not least because I write across quite different forms. If you've read my poems you might not be drawn to my political fantasy novels, and vice versa.

'Harper Lee warned that writers need a thick hide, but even elephants and rhinos feel pain.'

Harper Lee warned that writers need a thick hide, but even elephants and rhinos feel pain. No matter how hard boiled you think you are, that brief email or fat envelope in the post can always induce new and exquisite agony.

'Helen Dunmore was an established writer, but she revealed how she wasn't happy about the stories she was writing. I hadn't heard a writer talk about failure before. '

Helen Dunmore was an established writer, but she revealed how she wasn't happy about the stories she was writing. I hadn't heard a writer talk about failure before. She seemed to describe it as an integral part of the journey.

'What Agatha Christie knew deep down, is that not only is the writer an outsider, but that the act of telling a story requires that outsider-ness.'

What Agatha Christie knew deep down, is that not only is the writer an outsider, but that the act of telling a story requires that outsider-ness to be part of the narration. The classic detective story tends to rely upon the central detective being outside.

'In modern times, completing your great work is merely the first stop on the journey.'

In modern times, completing your great work is merely the first stop on the journey. As well as agents and editors, you have to negotiate authors' pages on Amazon, build relationships on Good Reads and feed social media accounts.

'London is of course, a literary city, a city of writers... A few of those writers lived in my neighbourhood. All have walked the same streets I have. '

London is of course, a literary city, a city of writers... A few of those writers lived in my neighbourhood. All have walked the same streets I have. We've drunk in at least one or two of the same pubs. Crossed and ridden on the same river.

'When Inspiration does turn up, like a dodgy guest at a party, there's no guarantee it will appreciate the nature of the event. '

When Inspiration does turn up, like a dodgy guest at a party, there's no guarantee it will appreciate the nature of the event. A bottle of whisky and a sympathy card is welcome at a wake; a pair of bunny ears and a strippergram, possibly not.

'I find it hard too, but decided early on that if I was serious about my career I must cope with editors and publishers who turn down my work and proposals.'

I find it hard too, but decided early on that if I was serious about my career I must cope with editors and publishers who turn down my work and proposals, and who frequently do not even do the courtesy of replying.

'I find my escape from words in photography, art galleries and museums, and music. By building or perceiving shapes that do not owe their existence to language'

I find my escape from words in photography, art galleries and museums, and music. By building or perceiving shapes that do not owe their existence to language, something happens.