Having instant feedback on twitter to research material I'm considering is an enormous help.

It's entirely possible to base an entire book on a long-forgotten letter.

A paucity of material can open up just as many possibilities.

Like good reading skills, good writing skills require immersion and imaginative engagement.

Books have a vital place in our culture. They are the source of ideas, of stories that engage and stretch the imagination and most importantly, inspire.

Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.

Writing historical fiction has many common traits with writing sci-fi or fantasy books. The past is another country - a very different world - and historical readers want to see, smell and touch what it was like living there.

The telling of any character is what they do in a different situation.

In the industry, trying out new genres is not always encouraged but what I've discovered is that as a writer, a jaunt outside my comfort zone generally brings new skills to the main body of my work.