ACHUKA Authorfile #49

Terence Blacker

My hair colour: A subtle shade of auburn which catches the sunlight at dusk.
My eye colour: Hazel, with a humorous, kind-hearted twinkle.
My shoe size: A neat yet manly 8½ .
My star sign: Aquarius, the sign of profound sensitivity and creative originality.
My favourite book when child: Jack London's White Fang.
Books that inspired me to become a writer: I'm not sure any book particularly inspired me to become a writer. I remember being influenced by Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes when I was young - Exley wrote with passion and wit about his life without assuming any literary airs. Ford Madox Ford's A Good Soldier and Joseph Heller's Something Happened are other important influences.
My favourite fictional character: Rabbit Angstrom.
My favourite author: The shortlist would include Laurence Sterne, Leo Tolstoy, Graham Greene, John Updike, Philip Roth and Lorrie Moore.
My ideal reading position: Prone, full slob-out position.
My usual means of marking a place in a book: Brain.
My favourite time of year: The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.
My favourite time of day: One minute past six in the evening.
My best time for working: Morning.
The first piece of work I was paid for was: A vaguely satirical diary written by one Jonty Lejeune, a hooligan publisher, for Publishing News.
My favourite TV show: Twin Peaks or The Young Ones or Rab C Nesbitt or Abigail's Party or Marion and Geoff.
My favourite actor Helena Bonham Carter (and I think she rather likes me, too).
My favourite song: The closing chorus of Bach's Matthew Passion, Bob Dylan's I Threw It All Away or Willie Nelson's My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.
The creature comfort I would most unwillingly relinquish: My Guild acoustic guitar.
My favourite sweet food: A fig, plucked from the tree while still warm from the sun, or truffles made by Prestat.
My favourite savory food: Now you're getting too complicated for me.
My typical bedtime is: Unsuitable for reading on the Achuka website.
My favourite year of childhood: Four. It was downhill all the way after that.
The tidiest place in my home is: This has yet to be discovered.
The untidiest place in my home is: Office.
My mousemat design: My laptop is post-mousemat.
The working tool I would least like to do without: Heart.