How do you write? 

On my laptop. I am quite happy writing directly on screen. I also tend to edit on screen although I do print off drafts of work as I go along. But if I have the urge to write poetry, I do that using a pencil and paper.

Where do you write?

Anywhere really, though usually in my home office. But you have to be ready to write wherever you are if the urge strikes! 

What is your writing routine?

"Routine" is not a word that is always associated with my writing. I have become more relaxed over the years about not having a regular routine. I have an irregular routine. I write when I feel like it and I have stopped putting pressure on myself to write a set number of words in a day. I can happily let things ruminate in my head without writing anything down. I often let plots simmer and, eventually, without me really noticing, they come to the boil and get onto the page.

How would you describe your writing style?

I think I have two fiction styles depending on whether the novel is dramatic or comic. My comic works tend to have a conversational style and have strong character voices. Dialogue is distinctive and is a key element of characterisation. The comedy tends to be dark and ironic.

In my dramatic works, the style is less conversational and I tend to use the third person narrative. My language is economical. don't go in for long descriptive passages unless they are key to the narrative or characterisation. 

Which writers have inspired you?

Many. Jay McInerny, William Golding, Woody Allen, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Phillip Larkin, Dickens.

Story Of My Life by Jay McInerny was an important influence and helped me find a narrative voice in my own writing.

 William Golding's Sea Trilogy of Close Quarters, Rites Of Passage and Fire Down Below has an exquisite narrative. It is an awesome writing achievement.

Shakespeare's Hamlet is a study of despair. I love it. Larkin's poetry is equally bleak

The first chapters of The Mayor Of Casterbridge and Great Expectations are fabulous examples of gripping opening narratives which I wish I could emulate. Talk about hooking the reader.

And, finally, Woody Allen's short fiction is very funny and his film scripts are acutely observed.

What are your favourite books, and why?

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I adored it as a child and read it over and over again. The notion of climbing to the top of a tree and entering strange lands is very appealing. 

Golding's Sea Trilogy. I normally prefer contemporary fiction but Golding's narrative is so sublime that you really get sucked in.

  What are your writing ambitions?

I still harbour a fantasy about writing a best seller, adapting it for the big screen and then winning an Oscar for the screenplay! But actually, my ambition is more mundane and is to be satisfied with my work. This, however, may be more out of reach than winning that Oscar!

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

That a writer is someone who writes. That publication isn't necessarily a sign of excellence. That you should write for yourself first and foremost. That you shouldn't let rejection put you off despite how it feels when yet another one drops through your letter box. That you should trust your own instincts.

What are you working on currently?

Ah, well! I should be working on a half written novel which, as yet,  has no title. But I am finding a lot of excuses for not getting round to it. However,  I am telling myself that the story is taking form. It is a very delicate situation because I am quite pleased with where I have got to so far but I'm not sure which way to take the narrative. It is really at a crossroads.