One minute with: Jane Thynne, novelist

Thynne says: 'All the writers I adore are those who see the comedy in the human condition' (Frantzesco Kangaris)

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm at my desk watching two crows strutting along the window ledge and wishing I could tame them. Beyond them, through the trees and above grey, rain-dappled rooftops, is the spire of St Mary's Church, Wimbledon.

What are you currently reading?

A lot of books on the Third Reich, for background research. Particularly In Hitler's Germany by Bernt Engelmann. It's an astonishing eye-witness chronicle of everyday Germans who lived under Nazi rule. As light relief, I'm about to plunge into the final Elizabeth Jane Howard.

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

Apart from my husband, Philip Kerr, for his exceedingly dark sense of humour, I love the quiet irony that ripples under the work of Jane Austen. All the writers I adore are those who see the comedy in the human condition.

Describe the room where you usually write

It's a sunny, yellow room on the top floor of a Victorian house, a conveniently long trek for demanding family members. Our kitten unfortunately is undeterred and comes and sits on the desk, trying to catch my fingers as I type.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

I used to identify with Dorothea Brooke, because of that youthful blend of puritanism and idealism, but nowadays it's probably Marge Simpson.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Richard Ingrams: maverick, indefatigable and a complete one-off.

Jane Thynne's latest novel, 'The Winter Garden', is published by Simon & Schuster (£14.99)