I’ve been to many book launches and ‘in conversation with’ events and one question (and its variants) always crops up during the Q & A. Do you listen to music when you write? Is a radio blasting out tunes in the background as you conquer each chapter? Do you write… more

Every August, the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s tents go up in Charlotte Square and more recently in George Street too. I kiss my family good bye and say ‘it’s only 17 days, I’ll be back soon’. That is, of course, a slight exaggeration (quiet at the back). Chairing seven events… more

Pressing send on an important e-mail makes my hands sweat, droplets appear on my top lip and I feel like I’ve just consumed something that is going to make me throw up. It’s not because I feel awful about what I’m about to do, on the contrary, it’s more to… more