Simon Toyne

It's interesting to note that when something like a virus tries to poison us, the first thing our bodies do is heat up. We burn away the infection. Maybe that's what Earth is doing to us.

One of the things that made me try writing novels was I could take time off to be with the kids. That's the practical side of what I love about the writing life.

We have long suspected that the faceless organisations that run our world - be it the church, multinational conglomerates or the government - keep things from us.

Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. It's just a cycle.

The natural world is often bleak, but the language devoted to it is as careful as needlepoint and prophetic as well.

The splendid empire of Charles the Fifth was erected upon the grave of liberty.