1. 

   Tell us about your latest novel, A Good Girl Comes Undone.

   It's the story of a woman whose perfect life implodes when she embarks on an office affair, her journey from stressy London living to something more meaningful.

2. What is it about your character Annie that will appeal to readers?

   Well, Annie is funny, kind and intelligent, even if she gets things wrong quite a lot, as we all do.

3. Do you believe you should follow your heart or your head?

   Heart.

4. Which of your characters - Amy, Stevie or Annie - do you most identify with?

   Probably Amy and Annie. I was more like Amy after the birth of my first child, more like Annie while working in a magazine office. Unlike Stevie I didn't marry the wrong man.

5. How did you go from journalist to novelist?

   I just wrote a book. I sat down at weekends and on my days off and the odd sneaky lunch hour and wrote. When I sold the book it allowed me to leave my 9-5 job and concentrate much more on fiction, which is what I wanted to do.



6. When did you first hear the term 'yummy mummy' and did you always intend to be one?

   'Yummy Mummy' was just in the cultural ether really. I don't remember where I first heard it. I'm not sure I've ever managed to be one! I might be able to pull it off after an encounter with a hairdryer and a good night's sleep, but most of the time I'm afraid I'm not sure I'd qualify.

7. What was the inspiration behind A Bad Bride's Tale?

   I just liked the idea of unravelling a marriage that shouldn't have happened. Why did the bride say yes? What happens when you 'settle' and marry someone you're not properly in love with?



8. You've done a yummy mummy, a bad bride and a good girl . . . What's next?

   Not sure yet. The notebook is blank!

9. What are you reading now?

   Catherine O'Flynn's What Was Lost. It's brilliant.

10. What does chick lit mean to you?

    Well it's a bit of a sweeping term. It tends to encompass books that are about young women's lives, and those aimed at a female readership.

11. If you could invite three fictional characters to dinner, who would they be and why?

    Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice for her wry intelligence. Oscar Wilde's Dorian Grey for his intriguing split personality. And probably Bridget Jones to spill the wine, say the wrong thing at the wrong time and make everybody laugh.

12. What's the best thing and the worst thing about being an author?

    The best thing is being paid to make up stories. The worst thing is the fear that no one will want to read them.

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