'There were no clear routes for becoming a writer. Degrees in creative writing had not yet mushroomed at the universities; I’d had no idea that writing might be taught. '

There were no clear routes for becoming a writer. Degrees in creative writing had not yet mushroomed at the universities; I’d had no idea that writing might be taught. How novelists learnt their craft and made a career of it, to me was an utter enigma.

'I was once drowsing through a press brunch at Claridge’s in my days as a consumer journalist, when the late Dame Barbara Cartland arrived...'

I was once drowsing through a press brunch at Claridge’s in my days as a consumer journalist, when the late Dame Barbara Cartland arrived. For a second, it was possible to imagine the maturity of one’s own career being a matter of grand arrivals.

'‘Kill your darlings’ is high on my list of unhelpful comments about writing, almost as bad as Connolly’s dismissive ‘pram in the hall’.'

‘Kill your darlings’ is high on my list of unhelpful comments about writing, almost as bad as Connolly’s dismissive ‘pram in the hall’ which implies parents (and probably especially women) can’t be good writers. We need greener metaphors for creativity.

'In many ways, the ‘pram in the hallway’ has not been, for me, ‘a sombre enemy of good art’. Having a child has given me access to different people, places and concerns.'

In many ways, the ‘pram in the hallway’ has not been, for me, ‘a sombre enemy of good art’. Having a child has given me access to different types of people, places and concerns, as well as reconnecting me with my own childhood.

'Books written by friends have a special, honoured shelf to themselves. Histories, biographies, novels, memoirs. Some of them write quite a lot. '

Books written by friends have a special, honoured shelf to themselves. Some of them write quite a lot. I vote we ask the Prime Minister to insert another month into the year so we can catch up with our reading. The Romans used to do it, after all.

'The stylists, all from northern Italy, would complain about their husbands in their dialect. I spent my early years eavesdropping.'

I had a Saturday job at a hair salon in London’s Soho. The stylists, all from northern Italy, would complain about their husbands in their dialect. Many of the customers were prostitutes; they’d exchange news in a secret code. I spent my early years eavesdropping.

'Working on a book can be gruelling. The feeling that you’re writing into a void can spawn an imagined readership of crippling inner critics '

Working on a book can be gruelling. The feeling that you’re writing into a void can spawn an imagined readership of crippling inner critics — and make it harder to nurture the two qualities that a writer needs above all: self-discipline and self-belief.

'I found a single email, sent by the organisers of a writing competition, inviting me to a reading and presentation, but my phone was out of service. I had been shortlisted.'

I found a single email, sent by the organisers of a writing competition, inviting me to a reading and presentation, but my phone was out of service. I had been shortlisted, and I needed to call them by the following day, or my place would be forfeited.

'When I learnt about the witch trials that had taken place in my home county of Essex, fiction finally called to me.'

When I learnt about the witch trials that had taken place in my home county of Essex, fiction finally called to me. My research uncovered a catalogue of horrors, born out of ‘othering’ and intolerance, and sparked a desire to bring them to light.

'I want to write about people who are creative, courageous, eccentric, mystical. They have a less appreciated side that deserves attention.'

I want to write about people who are creative, courageous, eccentric, mystical. They have to have a less appreciated side that deserves attention. They have to be absolutely themselves. What could be more inspiring?