I grew up on Long Island in the 1970s and 80s. So that was weird.

I worked in advertising photography in the city until one day an art director subjected me to a diatribe about how mink teddy bears were unethical. The thing is, the art director was wearing alligator shoes at the time. It seemed like a good moment to leave New York.

I went to live on the beach in Oregon for a little while, and then to New Orleans for a longer while. I lived around England for a bit, and now I live in Wales.

I began writing fiction when I was very young, then got distracted by academia and didn't write for quite a while. Like everyone else who writes novels, I wrote a really bad one first and put it away in a drawer.

Then I wrote Little Wrecks, a novel inspired by growing up on Long Island, and people liked it. So the moral of that story is, just because it’s weird doesn’t mean it’s not useful.

I live in a tiny, very old house and am repairing the chapel that's attached to it. I hope the chapel will be a place for writers and musicians and language.

I have an amazing daughter and the world's best neighbours all around the valley where I live. I also have a big, remarkable family on the other side of the ocean.