I started writing at the age of three, but that was mainly copying out the alphabet, so doesn’t really count. Once I’d mastered the art of putting letters together, I spent hours writing stories, clanking away on a typewriter and sewing the pages together. My poor parents must have longed for the invention of social media.

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I optimistically sent my first full novel, The Ghost of Cripple Creek, to a publisher when I was 10. They politely declined the offer, but I didn't let a little thing like rejection put me off.

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I eventually became a magazine journalist, but longed to be a novelist. However, I got slightly sidetracked over the years by work, children and Mad Men box sets. It was my daughter’s words – 'Stop talking about writing a book and just write one' – that gave me the push I needed to enrol on a writing course.

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My books are inspired by my feeble attempt to juggle a career with childcare, never-ending life admin and laundry and, outrageously, a bit of time for myself. I’m still struggling, despite the fact my children are now teenagers! (Any tips on how to cope would be much appreciated!)

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My novels have been shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print prize and the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award.

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I write for Writers’ Forum magazine and the RNA’s magazine Romance Matters. I wrote short stories for Jackie magazine in my teens. Thankfully these were never printed.

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I live in Hertfordshire with my husband and two teenage daughters ­– one of whom is expecting 10 per cent of any profits.