I always have something in mind for what I want and then I try to find a designer through a website who can fulfil it. Sometimes this goes brilliantly well, and other times I have to keep asking for changes. For one book I noticed something that didn't look good when the image was enlarged, and had to ask for a radical change.

Alice in Wonderland as it made such an impression on me as a child. I loved all the strange characters, particular at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and even now I still enjoy seeing it in film or reading it again.
Dr Zhivago which also made an impression on me but I was a teenager when I read it. It is a sad story but told so beautifully, although as a teenager the political implications were lost on me.
Where the Crawdads Sing. What a fabulous and very different book. I loved the description of the vegetation and the wild life around where she lived.
The Mayor of Casterbridge or any Thomas Hardy books. I first read one of his books when studying it at school. His description and depth make all his books very readable. What I find too much these days is how sad they are.
The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes. Based on a true story, it captivated me. It is grim in places, but has an uplifting angle to it all the way through and I love books to be uplifting.

I read all books for pleasure - I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but I have done in the past (particularly self-help). I am very specific that I want to get into a book very quickly and when I don't I give it about 100 pages and sometimes give up. I would always choose a Joanna Trollope book when I need to quickly get involved. She is a writer who does characters so well.

I have a Kindle where I store a few books for holidays. I also read paperbacks.

My latest marketing techniques are publishing my books wide and taking part in promotions where I can. It is a big world out there with loads of competition, so it's hard to stand out. Promotions which give the reader more information about your book can be very helpful.

Organised but not always tidy. I have to have space and everything I need to hand right by me.

I grew up in the UK and I tend to believe that my books are very British (English). I read a lot of American books and international best sellers, and there is an obvious culture difference.

I trained as a journalist at 22 and have been writing ever since - for newspapers, magazines and commercially. I wrote several non-fiction books before turning to fiction several years ago. I was amazed to find some inspiration inside.

My latest book is about a rescue cat (my own cat) who is a very feisty and demanding animal, possibly due to being abandoned as a kitten. I had to make up her story until she found us because obviously no one knew what happened to her when she was left on the streets, which must have been terrifying and challenging. Then when she was rescued and joined us I knew her life but she tells her story all the way through the book.

I found the publishing world very hard to navigate despite spending some time trying to get an agent or publisher. I was let down badly once or twice with an agent showing a lot of interest and then dropping me with no explanation. I heard more and more about the indie market and decided to try it. It's hard work, but worth it.

I published with Smashwords years ago, but have only just got back in contact with them. So I am starting out again with them.

It makes me feel excited and vibrant. When writing a novel I have the characters in my head as if they are real people. I can't think about anything else.

I love people enjoying and 'getting' my books.

Maybe some children's stories.

Thomas Hardy, JoJo Moyes, Joanna Trollope, Maggie O'Farrell, Kate Atkinson, Victoria Hislop, Kate Morton.

Doing something new, playing tennis, having a full day planned.

Playing tennis, playing golf, teaching English as a foreign language, socialising, reading books, listening to music.

Usually word of mouth. Particular friends who love books as much as I do. Or an interview on the radio, a TV interview or an article in the paper.

I don't remember school stories I wrote, but I used to jot a lot in a notebook and I can remember the idea of some of them. I have most of them somewhere as I keep notebooks and diaries where I wrote a lot.

I just have to get on with it when I can feel that I have words in my head. If it's late at night I write it down for the next day.

I can go right back into childhood and being very excited about Noddy (Enid Blyton, a prolific children's writer in the UK).

Do people (women) enjoy reading uplifting novels? There is a lot of violence and horror out there. I like the idea of the world shifting to a positive narrative.

I know the facts are that books about horror, sci-fi, crime and sex and violence sell well. I need to immerse myself in novels (and films) that have a positive effect and outcome. I don't want to see the horror of what's going on in real life being reflected into a book that I am reading every day. I like to feel that there is going to be some optimism and that things will improve.

It's quite possible that this isn't true as millions of people buy books. I think it has a lot to do with the Internet and social media. People often want to read short pieces of text and they spend so much time doing so that they don't have time for reading. I really hope that many of the non-readers grow to discover reading and the sheer pleasure it brings.

If anyone was talented in the past they had very little competition. Most people wouldn't have had the time or money to indulge a writing career in the 19th Century. So those few that did (Dickens, Brontes, Jane Austen - in the UK) were successful.