Readers Place

What do you think you would like to have been if you hadn’t become an author?

In my dreams I am an ice dance champion… This may surprise a lot of people – especially the ones who remember my brief skating career. I could move very slowly forwards and on good days backwards. This isn’t really enough!

Would you ever consider moving back to the West Midlands?

In many ways yes, but when I remember my mum blue with cold as she grappled with heavy clay soil, I know I have got too used to gardening in the sheltered south. Mind you, the slugs are just as bad.

How do you cope with the solitariness of writing?

I like it. Some people are well able to cope with being alone, and that suits us for writing. I do have some strategies to stop me turning into a weird recluse. For instance, I read a newspaper every day – but never have it delivered. That means I leave the house at least once a day, even in foul weather. Email has meant you can be in contact with people all over the world, from the most solitary desk.

What sort of books do you enjoy reading?

A sad thing about writing is that because it’s work, it ceases to be so much of a leisure activity. There are so many books I must read for professional reasons I have almost lost the glorious freedom to choose anything I fancy from the shelves. But I enjoy a good novel and read a lot of biographical history – all periods, not just those I write about. I have a good collection of gardening books and am keen on art, architecture and fashion too.