Crime fiction has always been what I wanted to read, so when I sat down to write my first book, it was naturally the way that I was going to go.

Of course there's pressure, and it's still there with every book. Each one is harder to write than the last, basically because you're always trying to write a better book. You won't always succeed, of course, but that has to be what you're shooting for.

I wanted to write at school - to write funny stories which the teacher might ask me to read out to the class. It's all basically about showing off.

Mark Billingham Quotes