I'm a scruffy sod. Not on the outside, but when I'm in the middle of a writing project - say an edit or major deadline - I write in a tip. Discarded cups, stale toast crumbs on my keyboard, the lot. I know, I know…
Nikki Owen
My favourite colour is blue. Like a summer sky, like ripping waves of the Caribbean sea. My husband insists it was always green, but I strongly disagree. Actually….
When I come up with a new character, it takes over my life. Like inventing Dr Maria Martinez in my debut thriller - she has Asperger's and is so individual, I really have to try and think like her. Which takes me to…
Writing a character is like method acting. To really feel a character, get a true sense of them on the page when I write, I do what actors do and live and breathe the character. My poor family…
I love to run. Obsessed. Since I was a kid, I have pounded the streets in my trainers. Awful now for my knees, but great for clearing the head if you're stuck on a scene (i.e. every day…)
Films. I love films. Love going to the movies, even on my own, and watching a story unfold in that exciting, popcorn-scented atmosphere.
Also love a TV series. Big ones like 24, Breaking Bad, Prison Break - you name it. Love what Netflix has done to our TV watching habits - we can devour a great series in one go if we wish, and it has made all the other networks up their game.
I cannot write in silence. I don't know what it is, but give me a silent room, and, nine times out of ten, I will give you a blank page. I have been known, in the middle of a project, to write with Netflix running on constant in the background. Hey presto: productivity.
I am big on daydreaming. I like to call it 'productive daydreaming', where you combine a daydream with, say, reading a newspaper. I might read an article in the paper, daydream and - boom - I come up with a new book idea.
I have always wanted to write. Ever since I was little when I re-wrote Thumbelina aged five with paint and scribbles, I have wanted, in some way, to be an author. Only took me 40 years, but hey - better late than never, right?
The Spider in the Corner of the Room by Nikki Owen, published by MIRA, paperback, £7.99