Beware Of Your Most Implacable Enemy-yourself.

Usually Halfway Through A Book I Have A Serious Depression, So I Go On Safari On My Ranch In South Africa, Or Fishing Off My Island In The Seychelles. When I Come Back And Re-read It, I Think: 'what Was All That About, Smith? It's Fine, Just Get On With It.'

Quite Frankly, I Think Political Correctness Is The Worst Form Of Censorship. You're Not Allowed To Speak Your Mind Unless You're Black, Or Unless You're A Terrorist, Or Unless You're An Arab Or A Minority People. Then You Can Say What You Like. But If You Are Like A Lot Of Us You Are Not Supposed To Say Certain Things.

People Don't Really Know Themselves Until They're 30. Like Most People Nowadays, I Went To University, Got A Degree And Wandered For A Bit. I Trained To Be A Chartered Accountant, Which I Didn't Much Enjoy, And It Was Only Slowly That The Idea Of Becoming A Creative Writer Gelled.

Beware Of Your Most Implacable Enemy-yourself.

I Wanted To Be A Great White Hunter, A Prospector For Gold, Or A Slave Trader. But Then, When I Was Eight, My Parents Sent Me To A Boarding School In South Africa. It Was The Equivalent Of A British Public School With Cold Showers, Beatings And Rotten Food. But What It Also Had Was A Library Full Of Books.