Robert Bayley

I grew up on sci-fi novels, attracted by their covers and the romance of heroes dying in the cockpits of wrecked ships in deep space. Once the romance wore off I dropped space opera and fantasy in favour of quirky stuff like Dark Star, Alien, Blade Runner, Ex Machina and 2001 – that’s the sci-fi side I like. But I am also drawn to crime novels in the style of Mankell, Larsson, Harris and Nesbo. So I have just completed a crime novel of my own called Rache (pronounced Rakke) which takes place on the Cornish coast during winter.

The WWII Kafkaesque love story In the Company of the Damned is in the planning stage as is Vairga: A Mistake on the Plains, part one in the Alien Summer trilogy.

I have worked in science. No structured career, just a mess really. I like cats but won't get one because they butcher birds. I love writing. If I am not writing, the world seems empty. I am re-watching Game of Thrones because I love it.

I need a holiday soon but the airline strikes put me off.

Favourite meal - vegetarian chicken fajita, or Mediterranean vegetables and chips with a glass of red wine.

I'm not cultured, I hate parties, I love the sun, winter sends me into a tail spin.