Beware Of Your Most Implacable Enemy-yourself.

People Don't Really Know Themselves Until They're 30. Like Most People Nowadays, I Went To University, Got A Degree And Wandered For A Bit. I Trained To Be A Chartered Accountant, Which I Didn't Much Enjoy, And It Was Only Slowly That The Idea Of Becoming A Creative Writer Gelled.

Beware Of Your Most Implacable Enemy-yourself.

I Am A Closet Birdwatcher. I Can Identify Southern African Species, But It Irks Me I Can Barely Tell A Jay From A Blackbird In The U.k.

I Read A Lot Of Biographies And Books With An African Background.

At The Age Of 12 I Won The School Prize For Best English Essay. The Prize Was A Copy Of Somerset Maugham's 'introduction To Modern English And American Literature.' To This Day I Keep It On The Shelf Between My Collection Of Forester's Works And The Little Urn That Contains My Mother's Ashes.