1. 

   1. What inspired Naked in Knightsbridge?

   Well, like many I am a huge eBayer and upon hearing about people selling odd things, such as their lives for a day, I wondered what would happen if someone sold themselves for marriage.

2. 2. How did your book deal come about?

   A friend of mine suggested I turn my eBay idea into a novel, and really things just took off from there.

3. 3. Why will Jools appeal to readers?

   Well, she is a scream (if I do say so myself). OK, she is a less-than-wholesome character, but she provides some light relief in these recessionary times. Jools may comfort eat and take the easy way out, but deep down she is just trying to make ends meet the best way she knows how, like all of us.

4. 4. Why did you give her an addiction to baked goods?

   Probably because I have a similar, borderline addiction. Is there anything better than a warm cinnamon doughnut (or 10) on a chilly day?

5. 5. With her correspondence at the start of each chapter, were you concerned about Shopaholic comparisons?

   Not really, as before Shopaholic was published I had seen similar letters in other novels. To be honest, I hadn’t read any Shopaholic before I wrote the letters. Have now though, and they are fab books.

6. 6. Would you ever consider a Jools sequel?

   Perhaps, if people like her enough. I wouldn’t really want to redefine her though, so she couldn’t go on a diet, or change too radically. I am not keen on transformation chick lit because I think that we need to feel comfortable with who we are, and not try to conform.

7. 7. What is the strangest thing you’ve bought or sold online?

   Old Roman coins. Not really sure why, except that I’d never held anything that old in my hands before.

8. 8. What do you have planned to celebrate the launch of Naked in Knightsbridge?

   Everyone is so busy with Christmas, I think it may be a small, low-key affair. Plus, I am busy writing the next book.

9. 9. Is it nerve-wracking waiting to see how readers will respond to your book?

   Definitely. I don’t have as thick a skin as Jools. Luckily the response so far has been brilliant.

10. 10. I believe you have another two novels on the way. What are they about?

    Yes, there’s Marrying Out of Money, in which a coffee heiress is determined to escape an arranged marriage, not matter what; and The Anti-model Agency, which is about a model who is dropped by her top agency because she packs on the pounds, so she starts her own business in opposition, providing ‘normal’ looking models.

11. 11. What advice would you give someone trying to break into the publishing industry?

    Write, write, write, then edit, edit, edit. Sounds trite but only after you’ve edited your book many times do you really see how it pulls together. At that point, you should have something saleable.

12. 12. What books have had the biggest impact on your life?

    Gosh, there are so many to choose from. I love to read anything, but if we are talking impact, then it’s got to be Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now. All about living in the moment, which is something most of us find difficult.

13. 13. If you were made homeless, what three things would you pack to take with you?

    One of those slankets (wearable blanket) from Primark, a large bottle of red wine (cheap of course, in line with the homelessness) and a battery-operated DVD player with Sex and The City loaded on it.

14. 14. What are your plans for 2010?

    To write more, enjoy myself and hopefully live in the moment and not worry too much about the future.

Back to top