Sam Baker Q&A

Who's your favourite author?
Too many to say, but Angela Carter takes some beating. For crime writing, to which I'm addicted, Ian Rankin is God. Bulgakov's Master and Margarita has a special meaning for me. Then, of course, there's my husband Jon Courtenay Grimwood… (But that's probably a different kind of favourite!)

Where do you live? And why?
Between Winchester and London. London for the day job, Winchester largely for the cat! All this actually means is that whatever I need is bound to be at the other end. It also means I've ended up having an email relationship with Jon during the week and relishing the weekends (when I'm meant to be writing book).

Typewriter, Word Processor, or pen?
God, laptop! There's not enough tippex in the world for me to use a typewriter and I don't have the patience to do it longhand.

Name your favourite literary hero and villain
I don't like the idea of people being exclusively either goodies or baddies. Even good people have the occasional dubious motive for their actions; and baddies can be redeemed or condemned by their good deads. Black and white characters irritate the hell out of me. That's why I like Ripley - he's not at all clear cut. (In fact, anything but…)

What is your philosophy for life?
If someone says you can't, prove them wrong. Fight your own battles and admit your own mistakes. (Not the kindest of maxims but Journalism can be a cruel industry.)

Is anyone else in your family a writer?

My brother runs a company designing websites. My husband Jon's a writer. Also my stepson Jamie, who now writes and reviews for a number of magazines. I don't know what other familes get stressed about, but we mostly get stressed about deadlines.

Did you enjoy school?
No, loathed it. No memories that I fancy reliving. Couldn't leave fast enough.

What jobs did you have before you started writing?
Magazine Editor. Still do. And it's an incredibly privileged position to be in… To have both the editorship of Cosmo and a contract to write novels. Like most people in the industry, I kicked off with the dirty jobs and worked my way up the ladder. There's a whole bunch of us who started out as babies together and are now running half of the industry. Some days I just look round and think, how the hell did that happen?

If your house was burning down what would you save?
Husband, cat and ipod, in that order. (My entire music collection and then some is on the ipod, it's irreplaceable). Of course, I'm working on the assumption that the first draft of my next novel is already on a memory stick in my pocket.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
I was never a sporty kid but the only race I ever looked like winning was the obstacle race at my first Junior School Sports Day. Astonishingly I was ahead of the pack, but when I reached the stage where we had to put on a hat, I stopped and tried them all so I could select the one that suited me best. Strangely enough I came last. But I had a great hat!

How do you write each novel?
I'm a planner. I write the synopsis first, build a cast of characters (with biographies, background histories, physical descriptions, the lot), draw up an outline with locations, motivation etc, then write an obsessively full chapter breakdown. By the time I begin the first draft I know exactly where I'm going - the trouble is, the characters occasionally have other ideas.

Any anecdotes from the research or writing of your books?
The February before I began Fashion Victim, I'd stayed on for a weekend after the New York ready-to-wear shows. Sunday night we went to bed early as Jon and I had a 5am start to catch the 8am flight. When I closed the hotel blinds there wasn't a cloud in the sky but by the time we awoke a few short hours later, snow had fallen and the city was white. The streets were deserted, unsurprisingly, since the drifts were well past knee deep. Determined not to miss our flight, we managed to find a cab driver to take us to Newark. (He turned out to moonlight as a pyramid-selling life coach!) It was the most terrifying - and most expensive - journey of my life. A 35 minute taxi ride took over an hour and a half. We lost the road twice (well, it felt like it, but since we couldn't actually see road we could only tell by the locking brakes). It was like being in Fargo. When we reached Newark all planes were grounded, all the hotels full and we had to endure another 90 minutes on the ice rink that was the expressway back to the very same hotel room we'd vacated three hours earlier.

What single thing might people be surprised to learn about you?
I'm an avid Southampton fan, I have been since childhood, when I used to go to matches with my grandfather and learn swear words to appall my mother. Oh yes, and I understand the off-side rule.