One Minute With: Wendy Holden, novelist

 

Friday 16 November 2012 20:00 EST
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Holden says: 'I love Michelle Obama. Not only for her glamour, which is immense, but her poise.'
Holden says: 'I love Michelle Obama. Not only for her glamour, which is immense, but her poise.'

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Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm in my writing hut looking out at the impudent little fat robin which hops about on the bush opposite. I live in the Derbyshire countryside... It's wonderfully peaceful and a great place to write.

What are you currently reading

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. The brilliance of it is that you are rooting for Ripley, and yet he's a mass murderer.

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

I love the graphic novels of Posy Simmons. She's a genius at skewering middle-class and literary pretensions.

Describe the room where you usually write

It's a pimped garden shed with an extension, a chaise longue, a phrenologist's head, a turntable and a red telephone.

Which fictional character most resmbles you?

Darrell in Malory Towers. She was always my inspiration as a child, as she wanted to be a writer.

Who is your hero/ heroine from outside literature?

I love Michelle Obama. Not only for her glamour, which is immense, but her poise.

Wendy Holden is a judge for the Novel category of the Costa Book Awards 2012. Her new novel 'Gifted and Talented' (Review) is published next year

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