We saw these two walking towards us, and I said “He must be in love”. “He must have done something terrible”, replied Nicole.

I first met Nicole Flattery when we were both in the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris, and was really impressed by her clever and funny short stories. We did a portrait in the centre that became the author photograph in her new collection, which was given a rave review ("a highly addictive mix of deadpan drollery and candour") in the Guardian yesterday.

There are more portraits of writers in this gallery.