From about the age of four or five I wanted to be a writer. I was always making up stories for myself. Initially I wrote articles and short stories, then I ventured with my first novel, which I was lucky enough to have accepted by the first publisher I sent it to.

All sorts! I could not bear to have to stick with one type. I began with historicals set during the English Civil War and Restoration, moved to Regencies, then romantic suspense, and mysteries. I also wrote twentieth century family sagas, and historicals set at other times. I have even tried what I call a futuristic political satire, Oh Baby! At first I used different pseudonyms for the different types, but now I am publishing all my back list as Ebooks I put them under my real name, apart from some Regencies through Regency Reads under the name of Sally James.

At my grammar school we had a wonderful history teacher, but for the year when we were supposed to study the Tudors and Stuarts we had a supply teacher who was hopeless. I felt I had learned nothing from her, so later began reading around these periods.

Yes, and often get sidetracked into reading other things. For instance, for my saga The Golden Road I was reading accounts of the Monte Carlo Rallies in the 1930s, in motoring magazines, and found the letters fascinating as people argued about the recently introduced driving tests, speed limits, and women motorists. I slotted real events into my fictional narrative. I also try to visit the locations where I set my stories, and many European and American holidays have given me backgrounds for the novels. My first saga, The Cobweb cage, was to be set in a small mining town in the English Midlands, where I was born and brought up, and I wanted a town that had not been altered much since the 1920s, so I drove around until I found Hednesford. Then I used the local information found in newspapers and directories as background.

I start with a few main characters and a situation. I know that, for instance, in a romance the hero and heroine will get together, but I don't know how. I love finding out as the story develops! In the historicals I have to guide my story round the actual events, but often the events themselves can influence the plot. For instance, in Runaway Hill the heroine is staying in Reading when the Roundheads besiege the town, and has to escape.

I was an early user of a word processor, but I have always typed direct, as I can't always read my own handwriting! We now spend half the year in England, and winters in the Portuguese island of Madeira, where I concentrate on Regencies. I was also given the idea for Mating the Llama by seeing the llamas at a small zoo in the island. I need to have my own space, with research books to hand, and though I make extensive use of the Internet I am very cautious about using information I find there. I don't have set hours or daily targets. I usually plan to finish a book by a certain date, say three months ahead, but that is all. When in the throes of composition I can write all day. After the first draft I spend quite a lot of time editing and revising, almost as much time as doing the first draft.

I have written non-fiction, including five 'How To' books about writing. I do talks and workshops, have edited novels for two publishers, and been a consultant for a third planning a series.

There are too many to list all of them! I read voraciously, and some of my favourites are:- historicals, Dorothy Dunnett; mysteries, Charlotte Macleod; classics, Anthony Trollope; and thrillers, Robert Goddard. They never disappoint.

Novels, unless by top-selling authors, don't stay in bookstores or libraries for very long, and I wanted to have all my back list available, which was never going to happen with print publishers. It's also satisfying to see a novel available within days of finishing it, instead of waiting a year or more with a conventional publisher. And it's great to have royalties flowing in on a monthly instead of yearly basis!

See more details on my website - www.marina-oliver.net