I started writing stories when I was a child, reading them to my sisters, who were generally quite demanding, wanting to know what happened next. They didn't like the idea of a cliffhanger! At school I soon realised that I wanted to specialise in literature and languages, which I went on to study at Keele university. Following that, I gained a PGCE at Queens' College Cambridge and took up teaching posts in Greece, Seychelles and finally at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. Some years later, I moved to France with my husband and two youngest children, where I am now lucky enough to be able...