One minute with: Peter Robinson, crime writer

Robinson says: 'Nelson Mandela is a gigantic figure who has done so much in his lifetime' (Pal Hansen)

Where are you now and what can you see?

If I was at home in Richmond, I'd be looking out at the River Swale and an 11th-century castle, but I'm in a hotel in Bath and I can see a car park.

What are you currently reading?

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky. I like her writing very much.

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

Thomas Hardy. Nobody else writes so beautifully about the natural world, the landscape and people very much part of the landscape. He brings it to life so well, although there is a fatalism behind the characters.

Describe the room where you usually write?

I live mostly in Toronto, Canada, but spend some time in Richmond, Yorkshire, and we have a cottage by a lake in northern Ontario. It looks out to the lake and woods on the other side. I write in the corner of the bedroom, which is the entire upper floor.

Which fictional character most resembles you

I'm not going to say James Bond. Probably Just William!

Who is your hero/ heroine from outside literature?

Nelson Mandela: a gigantic figure who has done so much in his lifetime – and I'm going to South Africa in a few weeks.

Peter Robinson's latest novel is 'Children of the Revolution' (Hodder)