Robyn Davidson

You have to remember that I was an Australian girl of the Fifties and Sixties. For Australians at that time, it was imperative to get out of the country and discover the world.

After thirty years of being 'the camel lady,' believe me: One becomes inured to the spotlight.

I'd always loved writing, in the same way that I'd loved painting. I wouldn't have seen it as a career.

My mom once lost track of me at the zoo and when she found me I was lecturing a man about the difference between dromedary and Bactrian camels. I was about 3 1/2.

Australia is a resource-rich nation. We have been good at exploiting our minerals base and agricultural sector for exports.

'The Dovekeepers' is a fantastic novel written by Alice Hoffman; it was a bestselling novel, and I fell in love with the book and bought the rights to it.