The negative effects of combat were nightmares and I'd get jumpy around certain noises and stuff but you'd have that after a car accident or a bad divorce. Life's filled with trauma. You don't need to go to war to find it it's going to find you. We all deal with it and the effects go away after awhile. At least they did for me.

To understand the intensity of driving an F1 car you have to be in it. When you're driving a 750hp machine at 200mph the noise and the vibrations are incredible. The G-force when you take big corners is like someone trying to rip your head off. You hit the brakes and it feels as if the skin is being pulled off your body.

For me a page of good prose is where one hears the rain and the noise of battle. It has the power to give grief or universality that lends it a youthful beauty.

Many museums are drawing audiences with art that is ostensibly more entertaining than stuff that just sits and invites contemplation. Interactivity gizmos eating hanging out things that make noise - all are now the norm often edging out much else.

I think the fact that I made enough noise in the world that I might be remembered is an amazing achievement. You can't ask for more than that.

I was writing a scene where a guy was choking another guy to death. You can go online and type 'chokeholds' and watch scenes where martial artists choke each other out. You can hear what noises they make when they go unconscious see how their bodies flop and everything. YouTube is amazing for the more detailed stuff.