Q: Why did you decide to write a book?
A: I was never a great reader. My family would often kid around with me as I hadn't read anything since school. I never had the time. Kids, work, house, DIY, animals all got in the way.
After leaving work to start my own business I found I had a lot more time on my hands and one of my beauty clients introduced me to 50 Shades and I found a new love for Romance books. I became obsessed with reading various romance stories but also found you had to work through a lot to get a pure classic. After a holiday in 2013 I read a lot of rubbish and decided if this can get published, surely I have a chance and within four months, I had written The Right Turn. I have loved the process of writing this book and am now finalising a second. My dream is to be able to write full time.
Q: What are your likes and dislikes?
A: Dislikes - False people is my one bugbear. I cannot abide people that cannot tell the truth or will not show their true self. In my sales career I would meet these people on a daily basis and found them hard work to cope with. I now have managed to leave these people behind in my life and can look forward and only bring people into my life that I choose to be there.
Likes - I love being sarcastic. Good British sarcasm goes a long way in life and never take yourself seriously, you will always end up worrying what people think of you. I now have the motto "I'm a nice person and if you don't like me then that is your problem and you are the one that is missing out, not me."
Q: Do you have an inspirational quote?
A: "Illegitimi non carborundum" or "Don't let the bastards grind you down." It is something myself and my Grandmother would often say to each other.
Q: What is your inspiration?
A: I love to write in my garden, which is a typical English cottage garden in the heart of Wiltshire in the South West of England, with my two dogs next to me and the fountain cascading down into the pond, a nice glass of wine often goes down a treat too! Although unfortunately in reality, with the weather the way it is in England, I'm normally found writing in my beauty studio in between clients wrapped up in a big jumper!
Q: What help do you receive when writing your books, if any?
A: My sister keeps me on the straight and narrow when it comes to writing. I will write a couple of chapters and give them to her to beta read them and she winds me in.
My friend is an ex-CSI investigator and has written books on forensic science, so she helps with forensics and the court cases too. Both have been a great help.
I also have a team of beta readers who are my beauty clients who have all given me good feedback, and I do take on board their opinions, although I do ignore some of them too!
Q: Where do you get the ideas for the settings in your books?
A: My first book is based in Bath which is 15 miles away from where I live. As this is a very popular tourist destination in England, I thought it was an ideal place to start, as I could visit the area regularly to get an air for the place. Also if I needed to have another setting or to walk a route it was only a little car journey away. Sorrento, where the last part of the book is based, was a holiday destination I visited in Italy three years ago, which is approximately 20 miles from Pompeii.
My next book is set in Egypt, which is one of my favourite destinations to visit. I keep trying to persuade my husband that I need to go back for a bit more research for my book, but he's not having any of it!
Q: How does it feel to have a book published?
A: Weird. It didn't feel real until I saw the front cover. I had visions of what it would look like in my head when I was writing the book, but to actually get the image in front of you and to see how someone else sees your main characters is a totally different experience. I keep looking at the front cover and a big smile comes across my face. I love it.
