From a young age I always wanted to be a writer – but also dreamed of being a scientist, a doctor, a musician or an artist, and I'm still fascinated by those things too. I didn't have any idea how to become a writer, but as a child I used to read the text on shampoo bottles and think I could improve on it, if only I knew how to get that job! Actually writing books was so far from what I considered possible, I didn't aim for that.

But I studied English at university and was then lucky enough to get a staff job at Usborne Publishing, where editors are trained to write books in-house. Three years later, I went freelance, moved to Edinburgh, and began working with a range of other publishers too. I live in famously eccentric Morningside with my kids and cats.