I really, really appreciate it when readers tell me they liked my book. My favourite novels are ones where I feel a connection to the author - that they've put into words something I've felt but never articulated. For me, the best thing about having a novel published is when a reader tells me I've done the same for them.

Rory Dunlop

Rory Dunlop

I find this article very difficult. I'm a barrister, so I do a lot of public speaking, but I'm not an extrovert. Talking about myself doesn't come naturally. Writing fiction is a way of sharing ideas and thoughts without having to talk about myself.

I'm extremely proud of my two daughters. I don't feel shy talking about my children. Mary, my eldest, is the kindest, most thoughtful and loving person, let alone child, I've ever met. Connie is still a toddler but she exudes such warmth and joy that she makes everyone she meets, even strangers, happy.

I love to laugh. I think of laughter as the best and purest of drugs, with no side effects or come-down. I'll forgive an author anything if they're funny. That's true of friends as well.

My favourite books are funny, sad and true. I love One Day, for example, and everything by Anne Tyler. I admire authors who can bring out the beauty and poignancy of ordinary life.

I'm not Jack (my narrator). His life is very different to mine and, no doubt as a result, he's more insecure than me but I feel protective about him. He's like a flawed friend.

I'm a feminist. I think there's still work to be done. I want my daughters to have the chance to play the sports I loved, like football, rugby and cricket. I want them to have careers and families and not feel they need sacrifice one for the other. I like it when people say that I write well from a woman's perspective but I feel that shouldn't be hard.

The most important people in my life have been women. I was extremely close to my mother growing up, the 'best man' at my wedding was a woman and my best friend now is, without doubt, my wife. Did I mention my daughters? Don't get me started on them.

I've wanted to be a novelist since I was 13 but I didn't write till I was 33. For 20 years I thought I'd rather not try than try and fail. When I finally started, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

I used to be a maths teacher. I thought I was quite good at it but now, when I try to help my daughter with her maths homework, she puts her hands over her ears and says 'La, la, la, la'.

What We Didn't Say is out now.