There Is Nothing As Tentative As An

If You Grow Up In Ireland And Read Books Then You Really Are Obliged To Attempt Your Own Some Time. It Is Not Exactly A Choice. I Still Don't Know If I Am A Writer. Believe Me, There Are Days When I Have My Doubts.

In More Static Societies, Like Ireland, You Can Tell Where A Person Is From By Their Surname, Or Where Their Grandparents Are From.

It Is Very Hard To Trace The Effect Of Words On A Life.

And, In Fact, This Is The Tale That I Would Love To Write: History Is Such A Romantic Place, With Its Jarveys And Urchins And Side-buttoned Boots. If It Would Just Stay Still, I Think, And Settle Down. If It Would Just Stop Sliding Around In My Head.

If You Try To Control It Too Much, The Book Is Dead. You Have To Let It Fall Apart Quite Early On And Let It Start Doing Its Own Thing. And That Takes Nerve, Not To Panic That The Book You Were Going To Write Is Not The Book You Will Have At The End Of The Day.