I Was Always Influenced By Language.

If The Garden Of Eden Really Exists It Does So Moment By Moment, Fragmented And Tough, Cropping Up Like A Fan Of Buddleia High Up In The Gutter Of A Deserted Warehouse, Or In A Heap Of Frozen Cabbages Becoming Luminous In The Reflected Light Of Roadside Snow.

However, I Began To Submit Poems To British Magazines, And Some Were Accepted. It Was A Great Moment To See My First Poems Published. It Felt Like Entering A Tradition.

I Hope That Readers Will Tear Through My Books Because They Can't Stop Themselves - And Then, Maybe, Read Them Again And Find New Things There.

I Can Remember Being In My Pram: Children Stayed In Their Prams Much Longer Then Than They Do Now. A Big Bouncy Pram With Black Covers And A Hood With Metal Clips That Could Trap Your Fingers. I Was Looking Up At My Sister Who Was Sitting On The Pram Seat, With Her Back To Me.

However, The Difficulties And Pleasures Of The Writing Itself Are Similar For A Novel With A Historical Setting And A Novel With A Contemporary Setting, As Far As I'm Concerned.