As you would expect he is an avid reader, consuming two or three books a month, as well as being a keen film watcher. His tastes are eclectic, political, philosophical, educational, and historical as well of course as buckets of fiction. He uses Facebook more than he should.
If you were to put him in a ditch and not allow him out until he committed an answer he would say his strongest writing influences are Stephen King (no-one tells a better story) and Ian McEwan (no-one tips reality onto a page with such coruscating realism, both the outer and inner world). If you were to ask a similar question about film he would have to say he is sucker for a good old adventure yarn, favourites: Back to the Future (probably the most complete plotting ever achieved in cinema, in that first film at least) and Christopher Nolan’s stuff.