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I could have just received royalty checks every month by lending my name to a collection, but I didn't want to do that. My name is a reflection of me.

I know one author whose royalty income has been halved from £34,000 a year to £16,000.

I want a regular pay cheque.

When my father died in Greece, leaving my mother strapped, a cheque arrived next day from my Greek publishers who'd just bought two of my books for pounds 500.

After being on 'Oprah' for a couple of months, I got my first royalty check for $1,478,392.17. I will never forget it. At the height of my career, I made $3.3 million. Unbelievable. From welfare in the projects to $3.3 million.

I'm a bit like the Queen in that I don't carry much cash.

My parents were always living from pay cheque to pay cheque. They were always struggling.

I spent my entire first pay cheque from 'Cracker,' a TV show on ABC, on an Audi because my other car broke down and I needed to get to work.

I am not going to take a role because there's money. It might extend my checkbook, but not my integrity.

I employed my wife for three years to sit in the attic and type up my autobiography, 700 pages, organise everywhere I go. I'm paying the normal rate of tax on the money I take out for myself.