Steven Erikson

You might see the Malazan author down the pub…

Describe the room in which you typically write.

I prefer to write in a café or a bar or pub. I need people around me, plenty of noise, conversations. The pandemic has obviously prevented any of that, which has affected my writing habits. The routine’s been out the window.

Do you find it helpful to listen to music?

I used to listen to music all the time, but only music with lyrics, and the lyrics have to be decent. The only exceptions related to the soundtrack to the film Black Hawk Down, where the instrumental pieces are just sublime. Then I stopped listening to music, except when the café’s own music was rubbish, in which case on went the headphones again. I find bad music more distracting than people noise, actually. Weird.

Which of your books was the most difficult to write?