The readers are the ones who let us live our dreams. I try to write books which are really compelling - that you'd take on vacation and rather than going out you'd read in your hotel room because you had to find out what happened. Hopefully that's what readers are responding to.

Over the past 50 years we got versions of X-ray specs and space vacations and even death rays. But the X-ray specs don't fit on your face - they're big things that screen your luggage for guns. Space vacations are real but they cost $20 million. We have death rays but you have to be a triple Ph.D. to play with them.

It's great that people are basically spending their two weeks of vacation to come out and be with us in some weird part of the world. And I think we owe it to them to take 'em to some cool places.

Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50 000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme of things even if it's meant I don't drive a fancy car and can't afford grand vacations.

One of my favorite vacation places is Miami because of the people the water and the beach - of course - and the architecture on Miami Beach is so wonderful.

I hate vacations. If you can build buildings why sit on the beach?

Of all the planets apart from Earth in our solar system Mars is the most hospitable. Yeah. Right. Better keep my visit short. And yet despite the discomfort the danger I love it here. I love coming back for these imaginary vacations. The sights are amazing.