1. Why did you want to become a writer?
I think it was probably Jo in Little Women, actually. I always wrote stories but the idea of eating apples in a garret and scribbling away was incredibly romantic. I also HATE working for other people which was splendid when I self published but I didn't really think about that when I signed a book deal. Now I do a bit more scowling and muttering but at least I do it at home in pyjamas and not in an office behind their backs.
2. What's the toughest part of the writing process for you?
Oh, getting started. And doing it. And then finishing to cook dinner. And editing. And rewrites, they're rubbish too. And copyedits are HIDEOUS. Honestly? It's actually starting. I have just taken on an office in a garret (I KNOW! I am JO. Bring me my Christian Bale.) which will have NO internet and no book and literally nothing but a desk and it's five minutes' walk from home so I'm leaving the phone at the house with Ross, my partner (also a writer, but able to write without feeling the overwhelming urge to declutter the kitchen cupboards every morning instead of turning on the laptop).
3. What's the most enjoyable part of writing? Finishing it and going YAY I WROTE A BOOK LOOK AT ME I'M A WRITER. That lasts about a day.
4. Out of all the amazing books out there, which book do you wish you had written and why?
Ooooooooooh. Er, the Harry Potter series. A) because they are ace and B) because er, well, yeah. Obviously.
5. If you could only save one of your characters from fictional calamity, which would you pick and why?
Oh god. Thor, the Highland pony from Sealed with a Kiss. No, Flora the seal. Flora the seal riding on Thor's back in a sort of horse seal hybrid. A seahorse.
6. If you could spend the day with your favourite literary character (not from your books), who would you spend it with and what would you do?
I'd spend it with Lizzie Vereker from Jilly Cooper's Rivals. We'd talk books and writing and drink tea and get drunk on champagne over lunch and gossip about Rupert and Declan and it would be amazing.
7. What can we expect next from you?
Loads of rambling about nonsense on twitter, pictures of my new Sprocker (Springer crossed with Cocker Spaniel) puppy Mabel who arrives on the 2nd of June, some moaning about finishing the next book... er, you mean in a literary manner, don't you?
I'm writing a follow up to Sealed with a Kiss which will be out next May, starring Isla, a very determined hair stylist who is forced to spend eight weeks on the island of Auchenmor and who is counting the days until she leaves. It also features a spiritual retreat, a box of carved wooden phallic totems, a lovely old woman called Mary who wants to mend the fences in her broken family, and a rather handsome piper called Finn who is having an early mid life crisis because he realises all his friends have moved on and left him behind. Readers of Sealed with a Kiss may remember him...
8. Is there any particular writing advice you wish you'd been given at the start of your writing career? If so, what is it? If not, what advice would you give to someone starting out?
Read The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen.
9. Tell us what a typical writing day involves for you.
Loads of faffing. Checking Twitter, Facebook, and the whole internet in case anything has happened. Then I try and do one hour timed stints where I can produce 2300 rough words in a go. They will be first drafty but they get the structure of the story in place. Towards the end of my deadline I do around 4/5000 words a day, produce a big lump of splurge, then fix it afterwards. However I do a LOT of pre-planning, getting to know my characters, and carrying them around in my head chatting for about a year beforehand.
10. Finally, what are you reading at the moment?
I'm reading a book called Playing with Fire by Kat Black. Kat writes men extremely well, and I am writing from a male viewpoint so I'm using this as a study manual. Honestly. The fact the lead happens to be an incredibly gorgeous Irishman is just coincidence.
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A shoulder to cry on wouldn't go amiss either - so when Daisy comes across Elaine and Jo, she breathes a sigh of relief. But her new friends are dealing with dramas of their own...
As Daisy wrestles the garden into something resembling order, her feelings for handsome Irishman George begin to take root. Daisy's heart's desire − her parent's garden − is under threat, and Daisy's forced to confront nosey neighbours and fight greedy developers. Village life is turning out to be far from peaceful.
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