It took me a while to get my act together to sit down and make a serious attempt at writing fiction, but I always knew there would be no wavering about the genre.

I read many kinds of books – thrillers, cosy crimes, rom-coms, classics, non-fiction, biography, memoir … – but historical fiction has had a special place in my heart since the days when my grandmother and I used to sit side by side, inhaling the latest Philippa Gregory (along with copious amounts of wine and cheese).

I mentioned earlier that I work at a little desk in my attic … and voilà! This spot right here is probably my happiest of all happy places (next to Paris, that is). I regularly redecorate this nook – depending on the latest trinkets I’ve come across in my travels – but right now, these are my ten desk essentials..

I worked in women's magazines for over twenty years. Some of those lessons have gone the way of the magazines themselves - but others are proving surprisingly useful when it comes to writing fiction.

I write at a little desk in my attic, beyond the branches of a large plane tree. Through my dormer window there is a building with a zinc, mansard-style roof. I like to call it my little slice of Paris.