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Sometimes people ask if my books have morals or lessons for readers, and I shudder at that thought. I always say that I have more questions than answers.

You can't have virtue without sin. What I'm after is having my characters' virtues defined by how they operate in a very sinful environment. That's how you test people.

Virtue is an inner strength. It expands your nature.

Virtue is akin to holiness, an attribute of godliness.

Virtue is harmony.

I was brought up in a home environment where I was taught to think critically and was encouraged to seek answers to questions about my faith.

I was never much bothered about moral questions like, 'How could there be a good God when there's so much evil in the world?'

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

Virtue is something you have to get good at, like playing the trombone or tolerating bores at parties. Being a virtuous human being takes practice; and those who are brilliant at being human (what Christians call the saints) are the virtuosi of the moral sphere - the Pavarottis and Maradonas of virtue.