I was born in 1981, on the 18th of August, which means I have a palindromic date of birth, 18-8-81. (It also means I'm a Leo, that I was one of the youngest in my year at school, and that no one was ever around to celebrate my birthday. Although I don't know that any of these things have made a huge difference to my life, to be honest.)
After I left school I did an English degree, and am now technically a Scholar of King's College, Cambridge. (I'm still working on becoming a Gentleman. Keep your fingers crossed...)
Then I went to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, because I'd always wanted to be an actor. While I was there I got to be in lots of plays, and had some great roles, including several forlorn Russians, a single academic ("Wow, that's such a perfect part for you, Bridget!") and the 12-year-old Margaret Thatcher as a Girl Guide.
It was after I left LAMDA that I started to write. I was unemployed (as most people are after leaving drama school), and as I'd been in full-time education for nearly twenty years it came as a bit of a shock. I had some terrible jobs to pay the rent - don't ever do data entry, if you can help it - and had to find a way to keep myself sane. So I started to write a novel.
It didn't get published. But the next one did. It was called The Traitor Game, and you can read about it here.
Now I write full-time. I live at home in Tunbridge Wells - a lovely town, although it's the safest Conservative seat in the country, and I'm not, to put it mildly, a natural Conservative - and when I'm not writing I read, go running, swim, drink with friends, act in plays, and sleep. In reverse order...
