Anyone who claims to have an entirely clear conscience is almost certainly a bore.

So the books have a greater appeal to a British audience, but that hasn't stopped them making best-seller lists in places like Brazil, Japan and at least a dozen other countries.

Agents will read unpublished work because they might make money, and that's their job. It isn't mine.

Judy couldn't move to Britain for family reasons, so I had to come to the States, and the U.S. government wouldn't give me a Green Card, so I airily told her I'd write a book.

One book at a time... though I'm usually doing the research for others while I'm writing, but that sort of research is fairly desultory and I like to stick to the book being written - and writing a book concentrates the mind so the research is more productive.

Mind you, even in places where I'm much better known, I walk in anonymity, mainly because folks know authors' names, but not their faces.

I have a terrific, marvellous, unbelievably helpful editor in London and she has the biggest influence, but even so we disagree as much as we agree.

I still have to crack the French market, though that isn't entirely surprising considering that the Sharpe novels are endless tales of French defeat.

I start early - usually by 5 am, and work through to 5 pm, with breaks for lunch, boring exercise, etc etc. But it's usually a full day.