When did you start writing?

I started writing little books, which I would illustrate, when I was about 10. I got hooked on the idea that you could just sit down with a pen and paper and make something up – a story, characters, places, whole universes. That’s a pretty strong kind of magic. I obviously also had to do a lot of writing in English lessons, though I remember one of my teachers told me not to be too imaginative and to steer clear of fantasy and science fiction. This only made me want to write that sort of stuff more. At home, when I was supposed to be doing my homework, I used to write huge, long fantasy epics, even making up the language and creating little dictionaries. I never finished any of the books but it kept me happy.

You went to the University of East Anglia (in 1977). Did you have an intended career path when you started your degree and at what point did you realise that writing was something that you could do for a living?

I did English and American literature with a minor in film studies. I chose these subjects mainly because I thought they were the least likely ones to lead to any kind of profitable career. Further education was free back then, so university was a time to arse about and find yourself and not think about work and careers and all that boring, stressful, serious stuff. That could wait. More fool me! Turned out that my career has been entirely based around literature and film/TV and I’ve been one of the lucky few to make a decent living out of writing.

I wrote a couple of novels while I was a student. If you were being charitable you might describe them as magic realism, but actually they were arty student wank. But all writing is learning, and if you’re lucky the more you do the better you get at it.

Did you have any idea that you would end up having a career that encompassed so many different things – Singer in a pop group for 6 six years, decorator, actor, director, producer, novelist, comedian, screenwriter, podcaster, historian… ?

No way – I’ve always loved to write, and knew that that was what I wanted to do, but never dreamed I would make any money at it. Everything else has spun from the writing. It’s been a blast.

You started making comedy in the late 80s and started writing crime books in the early 90s and then comedy took over. Was that a good time to be making comedy?

It was a brilliant time. There was a strong cohort of talented executives at the BBC and Channel 4 who loved comedy and entertainment – and there was a healthy rivalry between the channels.

As well as stuff I worked on – the Fast Show, Vic & Bob and Harry Enfield, the 90s gave us Alan Partridge, Father Ted, The League Of Gentlemen, all the Chris Morris stuff (like The Day Today and Brass Eye), Big Train, Absolutely Fabulous, Fist of Fun, Mrs Merton, The Royle Family, Spaced, Red Dwarf, Have I Got News For You, Smack The Pony, The Vicar of Dibley, One Foot In The Grave, Men Behaving Badly, French & Saunders, The Real McCoy, Goodness Gracious Me… and that’s just the stuff off the top of my head…

Who were your influences?

I went to UEA specifically because it was one of only 2 universities in the country at that time that taught modern US fiction. I love American hard-boiled crime writing and that’s how I try to write my own books – stripped back, straight to the point, and full of (hopefully) authentic dialogue. Apart from Ian Fleming, of course (who was a fantastic action writer), I suppose the writers I always wanted to emulate were the likes of Jim Thompson, Elmore Leonard, Charles Willeford and James M. Cain. Not to mention Patricia Highsmith.

Would you say that it is easier to write for television than it is to write novels, or is the writing process fairly similar?

In the end, it’s all just writing. You’re using worlds to tell stories, create worlds and bring characters to life. Obviously, there are technical skills you need to get on top of to do either, but the basics can be learnt in a day. In fact, I use what I’ve learned as a novelist to make sure my film and TV scripts are easy and fun to read, and I sue the skills I’ve learned as script writer making my books punchy and direct and populating them with vivid characters.

I suppose the main differences are…

• Time
• Control
• Money

It takes me a year to write a novel.  It takes me about 2 weeks to write an hour-long script. I usually get paid more for writing the scripts. “You do the maths” as they say.

The big difference, though, is that when you finish a book that’s it – it’s all done – but, when you finish a script, your work is actually only just beginning. You can look forward to weeks, months, sometimes years of development, and rewrites, and changes before you get (if you’re lucky) to the filming stage. Then the script becomes something real – and often becomes something very different to what you first envisaged. It takes vast sums of money to make it real, though, and a huge team of people. If you write a book you are in sole charge and can write whatever you want. When you write a script you have to be thinking about the production – what the budget is, etc. – all the time you’re writing.

To put it simply, when you write a book you don’t have to pay the extras or build sets or deal with characters who want to change the dialogue you’ve written for them.

Also, with a book, it’s all you. You have no one else to help you, or give you ideas or to fall back on. But you have total freedom. With a script you’re working with a team. Both ways of writing have their pluses and minuses.

What has been the best moment of your career so far:

Getting my 1^st book published

What does it take to become a successful writer:

Hard work. Luck. Dedication. Willingness to learn. Application. But most of all a massive ego.

Do you have a message to the youth of the world?

Live a little before you decide what you want to do with your life.

What first inspired you to start writing, and equally so, the inspiration behind how the Young Bond book series was brought to life?

It was reading that inspired me to write. I’ve always derived so much pleasure from reading, and so it was natural to want to give other people that same pleasure. As for the Young Bond books – I wish I could say it was my idea, but it wasn’t. I was approached by the Ian Fleming estate who asked if I was interested in writing some stories about the early adventures of James Bond. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse – and the ideas all flowed from Fleming’s books.

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story needs to grab you by the throat from the off and never let you go. I love a story that develops and unfolds and takes you to unexpected places, and is full of surprises that have actually been very carefully seeded. As a writer you have to keep asking yourself – “Why is anyone going to want to read this?”

Once you have an idea what helps you develop a story?

Hard work and deep thought. I always make sure I know how a story is going to end and then I think about all the fun things that could happen along the way and all the characters we might meet. Many writers work at creating as many obstacles for their characters as they can and then figure out how to get past them.

What excites and interests you about the books you produce, and where do you get your inspiration?

I get my inspiration from an online site called reallyhotinspirations.com… I mean – would you ask a dentist where they get their inspiration from? Or a plumber? No. Writing is my job. I am always honing my craft. If you sit down and don’t know what to write, you’re in the wrong job. Become a dentist – or a plumber.

Do you think about your readers when you’re writing, and how important do you feel this is when delivering a story?

Well, in the end you have to write for yourself. You have to write the story you would like to read. But l do, at the same time, have a vague sense of a shadowy reader who I’m trying to keep amused.

Do you do a lot of research prior to developing your stories, and if so, how important do you feel research is when developing a story?

It depends on the story. Some stuff you can just make up. But not always. For instance, when I was writing the Young Bond books, I had to do a lot of research – about the 1930s and about the weird school Bond went to (Eton College). Luckily a lot of the research gave me ideas for things that could happen in the books. But you don’t want to get bogged down by it. Figure out the story first and then figure out what you need to find out more about. Don’t let the research drive the story.

What are your top tips for creating good characters?

Make them real, living, breathing people, not off the peg stereotypes, make them each talk in their own distinctive way. Ask yourself – what drives them, what makes them angry, what are their flaws – but most of all – what makes them interesting? Working on The Fast Show was an excellent training in creating characters that had to come alive and be distinctive very quickly.

What is your number one tip for aspiring writers who are keen to follow Writing as a profession?

Don’t do it – I don’t need the competition. Become a dentist instead. We all have teeth so you’ll never be out of work. If, however, you are dead set on becoming a writer and nothing else will do for you, if you love the whole creative process of putting words on paper,  if you like the magic of your writing coming alive on the page and the characters taking on a life of their own, if you don’t care whether you’ll make a living from it because you just love doing it… then you don’t need any advice from me. You already are a writer.

What is a good crime fiction book? How do you define quality?

Personally, I love crime fiction books that delve into the minds of criminals and psychopaths. I prefer these to police procedural stories. Ian Fleming, for instance, always made sure to give us a really nasty, twisted and memorable villain in his books, which is one of the reasons I love then. But the great thing about a crime book is it can be about anything. It can be about family dynamics, it can be about politics, it can be about corruption, it can be a comedy, or a horror story, or a piece of historical fiction. As long as at the heart of it there is a crime of some sort that needs solving to give motivation to the whole story then that’s good enough for me.

Crime fiction is very popular today what might be the reason for this?

Crime fiction is without doubt the most popular genre in the world today. Why this is, I cannot really say. These trends come and go. Four years the dominant genre in America was the western and in many ways crime fiction covers the same ground. It’s about good and evil, right and wrong. In our murky world where everyone is feeling insecure the idea there is a detective of some sort out there who is able to solve all crimes is quite reassuring.

What are your 5 top crime fiction books of all times?

Well, that’s a tricky one. I’ll say From Russia With Love, because it’s definitely the best of Ian Fleming’s books. I’m also a huge fan of the American pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson, so I would choose Pop 1280. Elmore Leonard at his peak was unbeatable. I could choose any of his classic 80s novels, but I’ll go for La Brava. I think I’ll have to put in Raymond Chandler, as well, since he was so influential on the genre and was the first crime writer I ever read – my favourite is Farewell My Lovely. And, finally, how about Silence Of The Lambs? A really compelling book. And then there’s James M Cain, Michael Connolly, Patrician Highsmith…

How long does it take you to write a book?

From writing the first page to the book being ready at the printers takes a year. The first draft probably takes me up to 6 months. Then there will be two or three rewrites based on my own thoughts, notes from my editor, the copy editor and the proof reader. You need to keep going over and over it to make it better. Then there are lots of meetings along the way about the cover and marketing and publicity and that all takes time. Plus I always like to have a couple of other projects on the go at the same time. I work in TV and radio and write quite a lot or articles. So it’s a long process.

Which of your own books are you most proud of?

My next one. You always have to think ahead like that as a writer, and believe that your best work is still to come, otherwise you’d give up.

Where do you write your books?

I have an office at home. It suits me fine. I can shut myself away and get stuck in on my computer undisturbed, and there’s no time wasted on travel, sitting on buses, or trains or in traffic jams.