Michael Connelly, author of The Lincoln Lawyer, answers our questions

Who's your favourite author?

Probably Raymond Chandler because he made me want to be a writer.

What's the first book you remember reading?

I can't remember the first book. I think the first important book I remember reading was To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee.

What's the greatest influence on your writing?

At the moment, I would say a small group of real detectives I have been spending a lot of time with. They work on old unsolved cases and are very passionate and committed. The nobility of their mission is very influential on me as a person and a writer. I want to get some of that nobility into my life and my work.

Where do you write?

I write in an office that is a very controllable environment. It has black-out curtains and ways for me to avoid knowing what time of day it is. I like to escape into the writing and not know whether it is 3 p.m. or 3 a.m. I like to avoid outside influences.

Typewriter, word processor or pen?

I write on a laptop computer because it is fast. The key to writing is rewriting and the computer makes it easier to do.

Name your favourite literary hero and villain.

Philip Marlowe and the Tooth Fairy (from Red Dragon by Thomas Harris).

Where were you born and raised?

Born in Philadelphia, but raised in Philadelphia and South Florida.

What is your philosophy of life?

Same as Harry Bosch: everybody counts or nobody counts.

How many brothers and sisters do you have? Is anyone else in your family a writer?

I have two brothers and three sisters. All are in creative endeavours, but I am the only professional writer.

Did you enjoy school? What is your most vivid memory of your school years?

I did not enjoy school but at least knew the value of it. My best and most vivid memory is being told that I would be allowed to graduate despite my poor work.

What educational qualifications do you have? Have you had any formal tuition in creative writing? If so, where and what? Did you find it useful?

At the University of Florida I graduated with a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing.

Did you always want to be an author? If not, what did you originally want to be and when and why did you change your mind?

I went to the university to learn building construction. Two years in, I discovered the work of Raymond Chandler and decided to be a writer.

What were the first pieces of writing that you produced? e.g. short stories, school magazine etc.

In high school, I had a short-story assignment that was supposed to have irony in it. I wrote a mystery called 'The Perfect Murder'. I got an A. It was narrated by the guy who supposedly committed the perfect murder. At the end, the reader realises he is writing this story in prison. That's high-school irony, I guess.

Who do you most admire and why?

My daughter because she has an unbiased, unfettered view of the world. She is innocent and hopeful.

What jobs did you have before you started writing?

Since the end of my schooling, I have been a professional writer in one capacity or another. Before that, I did many different jobs from dishwasher to salmon-server on a buffet line to bagging groceries to delivering dry-wall to construction sites.

If your house was burning down, what would you save?

My family. The rest could go up in flames. (Except I do have a first edition of The Big Sleep that I might try to grab on the way out. It could probably put my daughter through college.)

Have any of your books been televised or made into films? Who by and when were they screened?

Two years ago, my novel Blood Work became a film starring, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood.

What is your favourite website besides your own and www.orionbooks.co.uk?

www.IMDB.com. It keeps me up on movies in production. I like movies and like to know what is coming down the pipe.

What do you do when you are not writing? How do you relax? What are your hobbies?

I like to fish.

What single thing might people be surprised to learn about you?

That I don't like to fill out questionnaires.