Tom Palmer

Q: What were you like at school?

Not very good. So bad at English that I wasn't allowed to do GCSEs in English Lit or languages.

Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?

A Leeds United player or a milkman.

Q: Which three words describe you best?

Dad. Husband. Writer.

Q: What is your favourite word?

Iris or Rebecca.

Q: What makes you cringe?

Mirrors.

Q: What are you afraid of?

Torture. Rats. Amazon ratings.

Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?

When Leeds beat Man U in the FA cup last week.

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

My family.

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

I run.

Q: What strange habits do you have?

Singing football songs when I am happy and alone in the house.

Q: What’s your favourite food?

Fairtrade chocolate.

Q: What do you day dream about?

Revenge.

Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?

Too outrageous to say. Sorry.

Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Explorer.

Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?

Younger.

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist.

Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?

Honesty.

Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?

The Sahara Desert, where I met my lovely wife.

Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

When I was just a little boy, I asked my mother what should I be. Should I be Chelsea? Should I be Leeds? Here's what she said to me... ...Leeds.

Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?

I'd like a new left knee, please.

Q: What has life taught you?

Try to think about things from other people's point of view.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

20 years. But only professionally for the last three.

Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?

Erm... no.

Q: Where do you do your writing?

On trains, in cafes, in hotel bars. And, at home, in the Bear Cafe, Todmorden.

Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?

The best: having the time to do a job that you love. The worst: being away from home and missing my wife and daughter.

Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?

Newspapers.

Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?

Danny Harte, the football detective.

Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?

I run.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

I didn't like books as a child.

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

Keeper by Mal Peet

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

One, read lots of different authors. Two, care about what you write about. Three, never give up.