G. D. Wright

I like to think that my writing straddles several genres but, if I had to describe it in one sentence, it'd be 'crime with an emotional hook'. I was a policeman by trade, so writing crime was a natural segue from that, and my stories generally involve a 'worst case scenario' that lends itself to putting readers through the emotional wringer. Fuse them together and you've got my books!

I grew up by the coast in Kent, England, and YES! It influenced my writing massively. Community has a huge role to play in my books. I like to think that the location itself is as much a character as anyone else in my books. Setting provides depth, and I really hope that this comes across.

I read voraciously as a kid - much more than I do now! I was an Enid Blyton fanatic, everything from The Secret Seven to The Faraway Tree to The Wishing Chair. I'd always recommend going back and reading the books from your childhood - it really does reawaken the imagination.

After the Storm will always be my first book 'baby'. The tag-line is 'two children went into the sea, only one came out alive'. It's full of drama, full of emotion and I'm so very proud of it.

Bill Bryson is a genius in the non-writing genre, and is probably number one for me. Who else? Lisa Jewell, Ann Cleeves, Jo Callaghan and MW Craven.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. It's pretty dated now, but it's still a fantastic gateway into the world of science and discovery for the layman.

Ooooh good question. It's actually a character from an as yet unpublished book! But I think we weave a bit of ourself into every character, whether we mean to or not. There's always that subliminal addition, be it a bit of dialogue, a look they give, the job they do or the thoughts they have.

Do yo know what, it's not an indie. It's my local Waterstones. I went to school with the manager and the whole team there are simply superb.

I write anywhere and everywhere. One day, I'll get my dilapidated workshop done up so that I can call it my office, but for the moment I'll write anywhere. On the sofa. In coffee shops. On the train. Literally anywhere!

I love to read in bed. For me, there is no better place to switch off and dive into another world.