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I tend to think of stories and books as being for everyone, just with an 'entry reading age' rather than an age range.

I want to say that I really appreciate that readers are willing to work with my tendency to write in several different genres and for different age groups.

There's bleeding between age groups in terms of reading material, and there's bleeding between media. So there are books that are clearly comics and books that are prose, and then there are these books that are kind of in-between.

When I wrote my first story, all the characters were teenagers because I think 16, 17 is a great age.

I don't think I prefer writing for one age group above another. I am just as pleased with a story which I feel works well for very small children as I do with a story for young adults.

One likes to think one grows as a writer as one ages, else all you get is an 'old' young writer. Beyond that is the changing landscape of the universe and the stories I choose to tell.

As you get older you're told to be sensible, but it's important for writing if you're a comic that you're able to still access that childlike thing.

I was always concerned with writing to my age at a particular moment. That was the way I would keep faith with the audience that supported me as I went along.

At this stage I am not involved with young adults as closely as many other writers. My children are grown up and my grandchildren are still quite young.

With the 'Old Kingdom' trilogy, at least half the readers were older adults rather than younger adults. I wrote them for myself with no particular audience in mind.