One Minute With: Emma Weekes

Where ARE YOU NOW AND WHAT CAN YOU SEE?

Right now I'm in my bedroom, and I can see a pile of laundry that I need to do, some of my son's books, an iron and a fedora.

what are you currently reading?

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda, Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje, and Milan Kundera's The Curtain.

choose a favourite author, and say why you like her/him

Anaïs Nin, because her writing is precise, poetic and feminine.

describe the room where you usually write

At the moment it's my living room. I sit on the floor on a stolen, well, "found" mattress. My sofa's broken so I took it in the meantime. My living room is quite large, there's a big space where there should be a dining table. At the moment there's just a coffee table, a little TV, a laptop and lots of toys.

which fictional character most resembles you?

Atreyu from [Michael Ende's] The Neverending Story.

what distracts you from writing?

My mischievous toddler, the internet, and a certain playwright who does my heart in and who shall remain unnamed.

what are your readers like when you meet them?

I have yet to meet any readers that I don't know because the book's not out yet! But when the book comes out I bet a lot of people will ask me for royalties or something and go "Hey, that's me in there"!

who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Lauryn Hill. I know people say she's a bit crazy but if you listen to her Unplugged album, it's so pure and soulful. It will live beyond her death.

'Love Me' by Gemma Weekes is published by Chatto & Windus