What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?

Agatha Christie, tough to say which of hers I love best, probably a Poirot one.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jojo Moyes
Belinda Alexander
Liane Moriarty
Recently I’ve loved:
Love Marriage by Monica Ali
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gamus

In picture books, anything by Julia Donaldson or Oliver Jeffers.

What book do you think everyone should read?
The dictionary! I love my dictionary and also my thesaurus. My son rolls his eyes every time I grab it to look something up. We have races to see if he can look up a word quicker online than I can with the hard copy dictionary. Dictionary usually wins. I tell him that it is so amazing as it is a book that has every single word in it. He usually just asks me what swear words it has. (I also loved ‘The Dictionary of Lost Words’ by Pip Williams which is a novel about lexicographers collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.)

How long have you been writing?
I think it all started as scribbled words in a scruffy notebook (which I still have somewhere) about 6 years ago or so.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
I find most of my ideas come to me at random times. I have notes everywhere as I tend to forget them if I don’t write them down. The writing comes to me as I am writing but I usually have the characters planned in advance. Sometimes they do go off piste though and get a mind of their own.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
I love research, maybe it is the lawyer in me. I am always reading essentially and getting a lot of kind friends and family to read drafts and give their opinion on ideas. Mostly I get my kids views and I also ask their friends.

Do you see writing as a career?
That’s my ultimate dream and I try to visualise it regularly.

What do you think about the current publishing market?
It is as tough as ever to break into, but that is a good thing, I guess. I love the whole industry and think it is all very glamorous and just fascinating.

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
I read anything and everything, although I don’t love anything too distressing or disturbing. I am a bit of a wimp. My favourite is of course Agatha Christie and I read her books over and over. I love reading kids books, especially magical stuff like Harry Potter. I love Julia Donaldson’s picture books and I also love non-fiction. At the moment I have about 5 books on the go.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I like to have noise. There is not a lot of silence in my house. I have to have white noise type stuff though like the radio. If I put just music on I tend to get distracted singing the lyrics.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
Several on the go at one time. Three at the moment.

If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?
I think probably ‘And Then There were None’ By Agatha Christie. It is a masterpiece.

Pen or type writer or computer?
Pen and computer. I used to be all pen and then have to type it up and I have tried to stop myself doing that. I do love real writing with a pen though, however, my writing is quite scrawly, especially if ideas are flowing and I am writing really fast so maybe best to stick to the computer.

A day in the life of the author?
It can vary quite a lot, mainly depending on the kids. Once they’re at school, I usually do some yoga or other exercise. I had a spinal injury a few years ago and so need to do a lot of exercise. I then get to my desk and write or do other writing related things like draft pitches to agents or engage online with my fellow writing group peeps. I do this whilst trying to ignore the state of the house and other distractions as well as trying not to snack and drink coffee every half an hour.
Lunch and a dog walk (and other pet related chores) and then more of the same until school pick up. The school day seems to go very fast! Evenings are then spent with the kids, making dinner, homework, crazy board games or card games. Restoring some order to the house in between and after bedtimes and then flop on the sofa with my husband to relax, whilst replying to messages and sorting logistics for the rest of the week. I aways read when I go to bed.

Do you have any advice to offer for new authors?
Don’t give up!

What makes a good story?
Interesting things happening to interesting characters.

What are you currently reading?
I usually have a few on the go and I got loads of books for Christmas. I am currently reading:
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans by Agatha Christie
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
No More Plastic by Martin Dorey
A book about bee conservation called A Sting in the Tail by Dave Goulson
You’ve Got This, 101 was to boost your confidence… By Domonique Bertolucci
Menopausing by Davina McCall
My Hygge Home by Meik Wiking

My son also adds books he has read and liked to my pile eg the ‘Boy at the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Rauf and ‘Spaceboy’ by David Walliams.

Do you believe in writer’s block?
Absolutely. I have not experienced it so far thankfully, but I do have ideas block sometime, where my brain is just not in the right zone to figure out a writing issue and I have to leave it and come back to it another time.