Writing is a deeply immersive experience. When the words are flying, the house could be burgled and I wouldn’t notice. I have a low boredom threshold and I like intensity – writing is a way of escaping the quotidian.

I'm very eclectic in my music tastes - anything from Nina Simone to Beethoven to Talvin Singh.

I wish I got a lie-in on Saturday mornings but I never do.

I was always an outsider, always standing outside, observing and trying to figure things out. Which is exactly what you need to do as a writer, I suppose.

If the culture is so all pervasive that you can’t think outside of it, how are you making genuine choices?

Kids are naturally inventive and curious and creative, but most adults have had that beaten out of them. Writing is a form of play; you have to get rid of all those internal censors that we adults have, the things that say, 'Don't go there, that's not allowed.

People always want to identify a writer with their protagonist.