I'm an islander! I grew up on Jersey, in the Channel Islands. Like most Jerseymen of my generation, I learned to swim at the same time as I learned to walk, and the sea played a big part in my upbringing. I did a great deal of swimming, sailing and scuba-diving. The protagonist of my first novel is himself a Jerseyman, and I think my love of the sea, and of the island landscape and it's flora and fauna are all there in the novel.

I was good at English at school and, as a teenager, I wrote poems for my girlfriends. John Donne and Shakespeare were the inspiration for many of them, although I never soared to anything like their quality. As a student at Cambridge, I discovered that I was actually much better at writing prose than poetry. My girlfriend was typing the final draft of my first published book, "Jersey in Prehistory" (still in print, I think, though somewhat out of date) as I was revising for my finals.

It's the story of the Roman invasion of Britain, and the first forty years of Roman rule, including the Boudiccan Revolt. It's told from the point of view of Cogidubnus, a native British king whose territory covered modern Sussex and Hampshire. He was a Briton, but sided with Rome because his mortal enemies were fighting on the other side. In my book he seeks peace and prosperity for his people, and tries to prevent the revolt but, of course, he fails. It's based very closely on historical and archaeological evidence, but it also touches on questions that are very relevant today.

I'm not an indie author as such, because I'm published by Crooked Cat. I think that some of the most interesting fiction today is being published by small, independent publishers. They are more willing to take a chance with something new and innovative than many of the larger publishing houses.

The joy of telling a story about the real past, that is rooted in solid research, but also explores contemporary concerns. Beside that, there is also the joy that comes from the English language itself, and from being able to work within a literary tradition that extends back through the generations of our shared history.

A slightly more complex novel, set over five time periods: the Second World War, the late 18th Century, the 16th Century, the 12th Century and 4000 BC. The five different stories are all told in different ways, but are linked by a physical place, by artefacts from one period that turn up in another, and by familial links. It really is a novel about the links that bind us all to our shared past, but it also explores more general themes of transgression and reconciliation.

Among the greats of the past, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, Donne, Thomas Hardy, Robert Graves, Marguerite Yourcenar. Among contemporary writers, Hilary Mantel, Jim Crace, Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell.

I love living in London. I try to see all of the major exhibitions at the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate and the Royal Academy. I'm a great lover of art-house cinema, so spend quite a lot of weekend afternoons with friends at the BFI. In the summer, I love to see performances at The Globe. And, of course, like all writers, I spend a great deal of time reading.

Partly word of mouth, but also reviews. It's disappointing to find that the mainstream literary press largely ignores ebooks, but I'm quite sure that will change with time.

It starts with research. The British Library is on my doorstep, so I spend a great deal of time there, researching from manuscripts as well as books. I really try to immerse myself in the period I am writing about. I'm probably not great company when I'm doing that: ask me a question and you might well get a 12th Century answer! Then I write quite fast, trying to get the story down on paper in a form that will never be published, but nonetheless has the basic elements of plot and characterisation. The editing is what really takes the time. I belong to 2 critique groups, so get 8 sets of comments on each and every chapter, and then I rewrite everything 10-15 times.

I'm sure it wasn't the first story I ever read, but the first one that really sticks in my mind (and this is a very common answer from writers of historical fiction) is Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Eagle of the Ninth." I had been visiting museums and Roman sites with my parents, but it really came alive to me through the eyes of Sutcliff's characters.