YOUR FIRST NOVEL 'The Earthquake Bird' won the 2001 C W A John Creasey Memorial Dagger for best first crime novel, a Betty Bask Award and the prestigious Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for authors under thirty-five. Were you surprised by the recognition you received?

Yes. It was my first novel so I had no idea what anyone else was going to make of it, even though I had faith in it myself. I learned quickly that the whole process of awards and prizes is very subjective so you always have to be surprised to