I brainstorm, plan, and write everything long-hand on paper with a fountain pen before typing it up on my trusty iMac. You’ll find me working anywhere and everywhere: in a forest, a local café, in the vegetable patch, never without my pen sidekick and notebook.

I live in the rural Essex countryside (around 1 hour from London) with my 13-year-old daughter, who is also a writer. She cunningly convinced me to illustrate her children’s book, which is rapidly turning into a 12-part series.

I have a serious notebook habit—they’re like chocolate—and am a serial collector of books in need of a home. Vintage books (over 100 years old) are my weakness. I feel sorry for them. My library is a retirement home for old books.

I listen to film soundtracks or classical music when I’m writing, even going so far as to confess that I have different albums for different stages of writing. For first drafts, I use anything by Hans Zimmer, Ludwig Göransson, or James Newton Howard. For editing and finessing, I use scores by Henry Jackson, Alan Silvestri, and Daniel Pemberton.

I’m a big comic book fan and would happily join the Avengers if they asked me (although, on second thoughts, I don’t have a cool costume yet. I think I’d look awesome in a cape).

Looking at me, you’d never guess that I’ve completed 3 London Marathons, been skeleton bobsledding, abseiled down the Orbit, walked on fire, skydived, climbed a few mountains (including Kili), and completed a double back-to-back marathon in the Sahara Desert. Appearances can be deceiving.

Being a foodie and passionate cook, you’ll find me in the kitchen, whipping up homemade prawn Gyozas or creating a Katsu Curry. I also make a mean Sticky Toffee Pudding. Dinner is an occasion at my house, and you’re welcome anytime.

I left school at 16 to start my own business, Utterly Horses, a niche business selling model horses and equine-themed gifts to customers all over the globe. Utterly Horses was the largest model horse stockist in Europe, retailing a range of over 2,500 items to a customer base of over 50,000 people. Movie launches, high-profile clients, and exhibitions all over the world. We did it all and had a blast.

Utterly Horses evolved into Copperfox Model Horses, a business that manufactured its own range of models for a worldwide audience. Copperfox Models were crafted from plastic and then painted intricately by hand, using the skills of painters at our factory in China. I stepped away from the world of Model Horses in 2018, seeking a new challenge, with Copperfox Model Horses being re-homed with new owners in the USA who are currently writing the next chapters of its story.