One Minute With: Glen Duncan

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm in my kitchen and it looks like Genghis Khan has just ridden through it. There are 24 hours worth of washing-up staring at me.

What are you currently reading?

Grimm's Fairy Tales, in an attempt to stimulate my dream life. Fairy tales read before bed tend to make me dream. They're all quite violent stories, as are my dreams.

Choose a favourite author, and say why you like her/him

The late, great John Updike – probably the best stylist of modern times. His style is sensuous and tender, but never short changes your intellect.

What distracts you from writing?

When it's going well: nothing; when it's going badly: anything. I just stop working for a while and go out for a walk or a haircut. I used to fret about it enormously, but sometimes you have to know when to leave it alone.

Describe the room where you usually write

I'm not very precious about that – wherever it's possible to write. Usually it's at home, in the flat. Sometimes I'll be in the kitchen but I write on a laptop so pretty much anywhere.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

Based on the diminishing power of my hearing, The Saucepan Man from Enid Blyton's The Enchanted Wood. He was dressed in pots and pans and was always mishearing people.

What are your readers like when you meet them?

Very polite and, somewhat to my embarrassment, quite flattering. I'm constantly dogged with a feeling of fraudulence, so if somebody tells me they like what I've written then I immediately begin to think it's rubbish.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Sid James. Why? That's an impossible question to answer; let him sit and speak for himself.

'A Day and a Night and a Day', by Glen Duncan, is published by Simon & Schuster