Gail Honeyman

As a little girl, I used to write stories, but by my teenage years, I got out of the habit.

If you start a new career at 40, you've still got another 35 years to go.

I know some writers are meticulous planners, but I'm not one of them.

I love 19th century fiction and, in particular, fiction written by and about women.

The skill of a gifted actor, their ability to interpret and develop a character and truly bring her or him to life, is one that I admire enormously.

A bit of perspective and life experience isn't a bad thing.

Eleanor Oliphant isn't me or anyone I know. Of course I've felt loneliness - everybody does - but Eleanor and her experiences are fictional.

If you break things down to goodies and baddies, the baddies are always a bit more alluring in fiction, and that's true from a narrative point of view. But I wanted to write a novel about real life, and real life is a bit more nuanced than that.

I've always found Glasgow to be a wonderful city - warm and funny and full of kindness.

This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities they have, their greatest fear, I don't actually see their faces.

I had been thinking about social awkwardness and about people you meet who are not bad people - there is nothing wrong with them, but they are just a little bit awkward, and it makes you feel uncomfortable, and it makes you want to bring the encounter to an end. I thought, 'Is there a reason for that? What has contributed to their demeanour?'

Eleanor' was so much fun to write, because there's a brutal honesty about her. She's got no filters and no concept of social norms.