Because I think, in an age of social networking, it is both necessary and desirable for any author to make direct contact with his or her readers.

Although, I have to admit, I nearly didn’t, because when I came to choosing extracts there were so many caveats applied that very little survived for selection.

Firstly there were the dictates of morality and good taste; the wish that I should place nothing offensive or unwholesome where young and impressionable minds, or the politically correct, might somehow stumble across it. This sadly turned out to be a depressingly-large chunk of my existing manuscripts. . . all the best bits in fact.

Then there was the paranoia of delusion; the fear that some filthy plagiarists might steal either intricate plot or finest prose.

Lastly, there was a nagging doubt that I might not be as good as my mum said I was; allowing anonymous and malicious people an opportunity to tell me precisely what they think of my so-called writing ability. . . and then bang goes another dream.