"It's fair to say that parenthood has dominated my thoughts - and certainly my identity - for the last nine years. While I love my children unconditionally, I'm morbidly fascinated by the idea of parenthood lacking an instinctive bond to counter the difficulties and sacrifices of such a period of life. And I'm afraid of any possible future in which that bond might be weaker.

Identity is a slippery thing. More than anything, I'm scared of losing it - my own, and those of the people I love. Several of my novels and stories have related to this fear. In Shade of Stillthorpe, it's quite literal: how would you react if your child was unrecognisable, suddenly, in all respects?"