I was brought up in a house full of books, and grew up with an unsurprising passion for reading and writing. I also loved (and still do) dogs and ponies, seaside piers (particularly the Palace Pier in Brighton) snow globes and cemeteries. And potatoes. So of course, I was going to be a vet, show jumper, or gravedigger. Or potato farmer.

Or maybe a writer...

I studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College, University of London where I hennaed my hair, wore dungarees, had aspirations to be the fourth member of Bananarama and generally had an amazing time. And then I got a proper job. For ten years I had a successful if uninspiring career in local government before a car accident left me unable to work full-time and was the kick up the butt I needed to start writing seriously.

It was all going well, but then in 2012 I got cancer, which was very inconvenient but precipitated an exciting hair journey from bald to a peroxide blonde Annie Lennox crop. When chemo kept me up all night I passed the time writing and the eventual result was The Keeper of Lost Things, my bestselling debut novel, which was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Since then I have had three further novels published, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes and Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel and for my fourth, Madame Burova, I learnt to read Tarot cards and developed a hankering for a traditional vardo and pony.

I live in a chaotic Victorian house with an assortment of rescue dogs and my long-suffering husband. I am a magpie; always collecting treasures (or 'junk' depending on your point of view), a huge John Betjeman fan and I would very much like a full-size galloping horses carousel in my back garden.

As a full-time author I am living the dream, and I'm so grateful to all my readers for making that possible. I love hearing from you, so please feel free to drop me a line on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.