THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS...

TV show

At the moment, Yellowstone. It’s got stunning scenery, cowboys and a heap of drama (what more could you ask for?). Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) is one of the most acerbic, damaged characters (with the best dialogue) I’ve ever come across and I love her. Also, the prequel to Yellowstone – 1863 – was epic and the finale left me in tears.

The Shawshank Redemption, it’s both harrowing and hopeful. And also The Silence of the Lambs – terrifying – in a good way.

Being a writer. It was always the dream. When I was younger I used to write my stories on an old manual typewriter. Ten-year-old me would be pretty stoked with how things worked out 30-plus years on.

Podcast

Not surprisingly I love true crime podcasts. I listened to The Teacher’s Pet last year – chilling and frustrating and tragic. I also love writing podcasts. The Honest Authors is great.

Cambridge-based author Nikki Crutchley is known for her suspenseful, tightly-wound novels full of secrets, lies and suspense. To The Sea was published in December last year, and before that, she self-published three crime thrillers, set in New Zealand. Two of those books saw her named as a finalist in the Ngaio Marsh Awards for crime writing. Her new novel, In Her Blood, is out this week, launching on Wednesday at Cambridge’s Paper Plus.

Piece of art

I love photography. I have a black and white photo of the Eiffel Tower hanging in my hallway. When I signed my contract with Harper Collins, I bought a photo by Peter Latham called Out of this World, showing the tussock covered hills of Cromwell, Central Otago, at sunset. The colours are sublime.

Item of clothing Movie

My Oodie and Ugg boots, a necessity for a Waikato winter (and sometimes even a Waikato spring and autumn).

Song Smell

A cliché but cut grass. Even in winter I can conjure up summer with that smell.

Restaurant

Alpino in Cambridge. They make the proper wood-fired thin based Italian pizza with minimal toppings. When the weather is fine, you can sit out under umbrellas and watch the world (Cambridge) go by. Plus the cocktails are excellent.

Take It To the Limit by the Eagles. I was brought up on my parents’ old records and this one has always stayed with me.

Destination

My now husband and I did our OE in the early 2000s. Croatia has always stayed with me: walled cities, cobbled streets, a stunning coastline, delicious food, beachside campgrounds and, at the time, the cheapest beer I’ve ever come across anywhere.