Why do you write?

Writing has always seemed an easy, natural thing to do. But it was a long time before I thought of myself as a writer rather than an academic.

Are you a vivid dreamer?

I don’t think so. I hardly ever remember any of my dreams, so I suspect they are mostly routine.

Where are you happiest?

Walking on the beach at Mount Martha, on Port Phillip Bay, around sunset, just when the light is leaving the water and the sand is still warm.