Paul Bilic: author of Blackpool

My idea of torture is...having to not be myself like you have to in some jobs

A moment of great happiness... getting my bank account into the black. Simple material things give me the basis for being happy

I am not particularly proud of which aspect of my character...sometimes not listening to people and thinking my own thoughts when they are blithering on about some rubbish or other

Something I most like to do... stand up at the bar in a cafe on mainland europe and drink an expresso, read a stray newspaper for free, then be quickly on my way

The quality I prefer most in a woman is... douceur and humour

The quality I prefer most in a man is... appetite and control

My greatest fear... becoming resigned

What do you have that is most dear to you... I donÕt own anything that dear to me

My best success in life... managing to live through a difficult period

The historical character I would like to have resembled... Kit Marlowe or anyone who exudes energy

The colour I like is... green

My favourite names... Lucretia, Laetitia, Balthazar, Blaise

A hero in life today... Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as he was in his prime

My favourite composers... Schubert, Mozart, Prokofiev, Richard Strauss

In the shower i may be heard singing... Wieviele Zeit hab ich verloren, dich zu lieben (Wolf)

My favourite authors... Nabokov, Marcel Ayme, Joseph Roth, the cynical but not the exotic Flaubert

The books by my bedside tonight are... Frank Kermode: History and Value; Valerie Larbaud: Oeuvres completes

My favourite films are...Husbands; Faces; The Servant; The Exorcist; Night of the Demon.

My favourite drinks are... hot chocolate, a range of herbal teas, nice claret

My greatest regret... my haircuts in the 1970s

If I could change something about my physical appearance... I try not to think negatively about my physical appearance. If I start like that, the whole construction could come tumbling down.

The talent I would wish to possess... I wish I knew about x and y in maths

Above all I detest... people who never smile a fault

I can forgive... lying to relieve monotony

How would you like to die...outside