I’m in awe of authors. All of them — novelists, non-fiction writers, experts, short story writers, people who write cookery books, children’s stories and all the other types of books I haven’t mentioned. The life of an author is a rollercoaster, full of highs and lows, demanding in ways no other job can be. But I particularly respect the many people who manage to hold down a full-time job or look after a family, or both, and still write a brilliant book — a novel, in particul