Why do you write?

Because I always have. I seem to have had no choice in the matter, for which I’m usually grateful.

Are you a vivid dreamer?

I am, and I remember my dreams, although I’ve never written about them. They’re usually transparent variations on the same anxious themes, but every so often something extraordinary occurs and I enjoy being reminded of the brain’s strangeness.

 Where are you happiest?

Newly arrived in an unknown city. Within sight of hills or the sea. In my parents’ Sydney garden. Walking in the Lake District and coming home to tea, a fire, and a manuscript. And at the Salt Lick, a barbecue restaurant just outside Austin, Texas.