I've been writing for over ten years. It was a pretty haphazard process to start with! My first book was written in the odd moments I had between working and living, which didn't leave much time. My first novel, "Imago", was mainly written while commuting.

I'd published quite a few non-fiction books, but I'd always dreamed of writing a novel. I found myself, unusually, with time on my hands, so I decided to see if I could do it. It's really as simple as that.

What tipped me over the edge was a tweet by Neil Gaiman about the Terry Pratchett Prize for alt history. That's what inspired me to choose this genre, although I didn't have nearly enough time to enter the competition!

I'm used to the traditional publishing industry, though not the fiction side of things. So that's what I went for initially. I was lucky enough to sign up with a very talented literary agent who helped me develop the novel tremendously. But he left the industry for a new career (I hope not because of me!) and the agency was unable to re-assign me. I didn't want to go through the whole process again. This way is so much simpler.

When things come together as I'd planned. But sometimes they come together in ways I'd never planned, and that's even better.

There are lots of great authors I like, but in this genre I think Robert Harris is still the best.

Working! The life of an academic is extremely busy. Most of the time I'm teaching, preparing teaching, or researching. Well, in theory. In practice there's a huge amount of admin to do too, which can overwhelm everything else if you let it.

Boringly, I set aside time to do it and I do it. Writing is a discipline like any other. The main secret I've discovered over the years is to stop at a point where I know what I'm going to write next. That way, when I sit down again next time, it's easy to get started.

I like all thrillers, sci-fi, and fantasy. If they can be combined then so much the better.