One Minute With: Erin Kelly, novelist

Kelly says: 'I always identify with an awkward teenage girl: Zora from Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty' is a favourite.' (Domenico Pugliese)

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm on the 263 bus on Holloway Road. If I smear a porthole in the window I can see the Odeon.

What are you currently reading?

'Heretics' by Will Storr. It's a collection of essays about, and interviews with, science-deniers. The more novels I write, the more non-fiction I want to read.

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

I like any writer who marries strong narrative with high style, like William Boyd, Maggie O'Farrell and Lesley Glaister.

Describe the room where you usually write

It's a cliché, but a converted attic in North London. It's got dusty bookshelves, cheeseplants, an oriental rug, the lot.

Which fictional character most resmbles you?

I don't know about resemble, but I always identify with an awkward teenage girl: Zora from Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty' is a favourite.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Ina May Gaskin, author of 'Spiritual Midwifery' and natural birth pioneer.

Erin Kelly's new novel of psychological suspense is 'The Burning Air' (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99)