Reading is my long-standing rebellion; my nose has barely been outside a book since I learned my ABC. Age seven, I had to be forcibly ejected ‘outside to play’; by ten, I had negotiated a bedroom swap with my brother because a street lamp shone through his window if the curtains were carefully angled. Still at primary school I wrote ‘books’ because I’d read everything in the (very small) mobile library. At eighteen, I managed the ultimate rebellious act: away from home, I could finally read a book whilst I was eating my breakfast. Or my lunch. Or my dinner… I don’t do it so much now; I’ve come full circle in trying to set an example for my own child, but, I can still conjure up that little frisson of daring. These days – when I’m feeling brave – I call myself a writer, and I like to think the...

Yesterday I received another marriage proposal. That's just about double figures now, and fifteen years after my first visit to Bangladesh, it's great to know A Blonde Bengali Wife  is still in such demand. The proposals aren't really to me, of course, they're to the 'character' of me I created in the book, and it's both interesting and disconcerting in equal measure...

Angels come in many guises, and they tread so gently you might not recognise one until something prompts you to stop for a second and just think…

The writing world seems largely split into two: those who love editing and those who would rather have teeth removed. I’m firmly in the former camp.

Nothing strikes fear into my soul like the perennial author interview question: where do you get your ideas? The thing is I hardly ever have any; blood from a stone doesn’t even go near it. Yet, I have students who come to class recounting five cracking ideas developed on the bus into town, and still had time to write their shopping list into a witty haiku.

Can creative writing can be taught? Are writers born or made? Does everyone have a book in them? As a tutor of a range of writing classes, most of the time I’m commenting on ideas, asking questions about a text, teasing out stories, refining style and hopefully guiding a writer through the process of getting something down on paper – until there work is the best it can be. It’s facilitating the ‘spark’ that comes from an individual’s imagination… In recent years, the number of writing courses available across the spectrum from complete beginners to the post-graduate and published, has ballooned. If you have the aspiration, time, and money (sometimes quite a lot of it) then you will find a course to suit you. The trick is to shop around – and around again, check out the testimonials and listen out for recommendations – and find one that you will learn...