“I always had a soft spot for Sherlock Holmes and used to imagine helping him out.”

“I was always told you're not going to make much money from writing. You can actually do it. Now I've built a really good, big house out of words.”

“I was lucky enough to be a child during the renaissance of Australian children's literature, when people like Ivan Southall, Colin Thiele, Lilith Norman and Wrightson were pumping out hugely inspiring stuff.”

“I write books for all age groups - young kids, teenagers and adults - because I get a range of different ideas.”

“I'm a very nervy kind of person, who finds it almost impossible to relax.”

“I'm not a risk-taker; that's probably why I write - because when you're easily bored, but you don't like taking risks, you end up doing it all in your head.”

“In primary school, I was bored witless by Australian history.”

“Mostly I wanted to be a writer, though for a couple of years there I wanted to be an animator, because I loved drawing and capturing beautiful movements.”

“The fact that I ended up married to a decent man is still a source of amazement to me, thanks to 'The Women's Room.'”

“There's nothing quite as exciting or moving as the very finest literary non-fiction.”

“When you're a dweeb, when you're really young, it stands out. But as everybody gets older and more conservative, it's not an issue any more.”