Favourite Music?

By the CD player right now are: Suzanne Vega, Coldplay, film scores by Gabriel Yared (he did Betty Blue), The Best of The Lemonheads and some Bach Arias. My favourite lyricists are Ray Davies and Leonard Cohen. My favourite music usually involves a campfire, a guitar and my husband.

Favourite Films?

The Big Blue, Brief Encounter, The Red Balloon. Anything that makes me laugh, anything that makes me cry.

Favourite Intoxicant?

I've yet to find an intoxicant that isn't instantly my favourite - I love them all. Sadly, I'm the sort of person who gets addicted to things so I've trained myself to JUST SAY NO to everything other than alcohol and grass. When I'm old and can no longer be a bad influence on my children, I'm planning to be a wild drug addict. I'll smoke an opium pipe and hold Saturday night granny raves where we'll all sit around dropping ecstasy and telling each other how beautiful we are. I can hardly wait!

Which man or woman (living or dead) would you most like to have dinner with?

My grandmother. She died eleven years ago, just after she held my first baby. I still miss her every day.

What or who inspired you to become a writer?

I have always written and I always intended to become a published rather than secret writer but I was too scared to let anyone read a word. My husband was the first person. Then a friend. Between them they persuaded me to enter a short story for the Guardian Prize. It didn't win, but was one out of several thousand to get an honorable mention. My head swelled enough to send some stories to Ed Victor. My problem before the husband's thumbs-up was terror that I would be rejected and then would have nothing to look forward to (other than an opium-addled old-age).

If you had another job before you became a writer, what was it?

I worked in publishing and as a journalist.

Of the books you have written, do you have a favourite?

I think my best piece of published writing is a story I wrote called "The Itch" in The Girls' Night In anthology.

What is your favourite book?

Three books tie for first place: Rain by Kirsty Gunn, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.

Who is your favourite contemporary author?

Margaret Atwood

I wouldn't. It's always ended badly when I've tried to force anyone to read anything. I even managed to turn my twelve-year-old stepson off Harry Potter.

If you had to choose one book to take to a desert island, what would it be?

The Bible. I was brought up by athiest's and still blame them for not having encouraged me to read it. I would come back a nicer and more forgiving person (perhaps).

What book are you reading?

Swimmer by Bill Broady.

What is the first book you can remember reading?

Milly, Molly, Mandy

Name the book you consider to be most overrated. The Nation's Favourite: Lord of the Rings. Yuk, yuk, yuk. All those silly goblins and things. I hope and pray that my boys will give it a wide berth but it seems a fearsomely short step from Harry Potter.

Name the book you consider to be most underrated.

Ali Smith's short stories. They deserve a vast readership.

Who is your favourite character (from a book)?

I think I'd enjoy chewing the cud with Jane from The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing.

Which book would you like to see filmed?

Out of the Picture, obviously. I can see it already: John Hurt will play Jack, Anthony Andrews will be Tony, Miranda Richardson will be great hippied-up as Cordelia and two ravishing, young unknowns will become overnight sensations as Lizzie and Savannah. (My dog, McVicar, will play Muttley).

What was the last film you saw?

In the Mood for Love, an incredibly moody Chinese film directed by Wong Kar-wai.

What was the happiest moment of your life?

11.30am, 29.07.94 (It's too much of a cliché to put in words)

For what cause would you die?

Other than for my children, I wouldn't. I'd always want to live and fight.

Which decade would you most like to live in?

The next six (in perfect health).

What is your greatest extravagance?

Work places. A room, a hut, a house. (And then I end up working amid the mess and squabbling children anyway).

How do you relax?

Long walks with no-one to talk to but my dog. I find her total agreement with everything I say most relaxing. Also, she doesn't ask me why the sky is blue, or insist I carry her because her legs are tired.

What makes you stressed?

My children, especially at meal times.

What makes you laugh?

I laughed just now when three-year-old Gabriel told my mum that her bum was so big she had to get her pants from London.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

My ability to turn depression into a highly contagious malady.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

There are worse things to be, but I do hate spending time with the humourless.

Where and how would you spend your perfect day?

Bluebell woods, 29th April, husband, children, dogs, picnic.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

It takes two years for bad things to get better.

How would you like to be remembered?

As someone who made the most of life and never smelled bad.

What Do You Think of the Booker Prize?

Anything that gets more people reading books is a good thing. When I worked in publishing I went to the ceremony a couple of times and found it unbearably nerve-wracking, especially the year that Brian Moore was short-listed (but sadly didn't win). Nowadays I always read the shortlisted books and enjoy shouting at the television on the night.

Which historical figure do you most admire?

Wat Tyler

Which contemporary figure do you identify with?

I laughed with self-recogntion all the way through Raffaella Barker's new book. Does that count as identifying?

What is your favourite quotation?

"Perfect behaviour is born of complete indifference" (Cesare Pavese)

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