One Minute With: John Connolly, crime fiction writer

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm in my office and looking at an old brick wall. It's behind my desk, and it's the only thing that I can see beyond my computer screen when I'm working. I like to think of it as a metaphor – or perhaps I don't like to think of it as a metaphor, depending on my mood.

What are you currently reading?

'The Spinning Heart' by Donal Ryan, and Robert McCrum's 'Wodehouse: A Life'. I don't think I could like someone who didn't enjoy Wodehouse's work. It's a test of character.

Choose a favourite author and say why you admire her/him

James Lee Burke, for the beauty of his prose and the depth of his compassion.

Describe the room where you usually write

It's a converted attic, and the angled ceiling is very low. Every so often I walk into one of the window frames and bang my head. I suspect I'm incurring some form of ongoing concussion that will eventually lead to my demise.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

I wish I could think of someone deeply heroic, but I suspect that, as I grow older, it may be Ignatius J. Reilly in John Kennedy Toole's 'A Confederacy of Dunces'. Although I don't live with my mum.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

It changes, but I'll name my oldest American friend, Joe Long. He has a way of brightening any life that he touches, and that's no small gift.

John Connolly's 'The Wolf in Winter' by is published by Hodder & Stoughton