Sharlene Teo

I have a special affinity with Sharlene. One of the characters in her remarkable novel Ponti, which has just been released in paperback, is a former cult horror actress. My mum is also a former cult horror actress. That’s where the similarities end - but it feels fittingly spooky given the super-natural aspects of Ponti, a sweeping tale of friendship and jealousy, which won the inaugural Deborah Rogers writers’ award and was described by none other than Ian McEwan as “remarkable.” I loved speaking to Sharlene - we covered everything from the crippling imposter syndrome she experiences to frenemies to why perfectionism is a form of censorship. Buy Ponti here: https://www.foyles.co.uk/all?term=sharlene+teo+ponti Twitter: @aliceazania @treebirds Instagram: @aliceazania @strangelikeness Edited by Chelsey Moore