Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a seaside town, and now, after a very long gap living inland, I'm living by the sea again - within sight of it. And I'm very content to be here. The sea always seemed to me to be a living thing, and it figures very strongly in my first novel.
What's the story behind your latest book?
Isle of Larus is a comedy adventure, and a romance, too, in the old-fashioned sense. It tells of the four leaders of an imaginary isle, all of them grown-up people and disinclined to change, and how they cope with a series of difficult and sometimes downright impossible situations. They are by turns alarmed, appalled, indignant and very annoyed by it all, but they learn a great deal about themselves, and each other. There are storms, shipwrecks, invasions, piratical thieves, a betting scam, and a herd of ponies stuck in a cellar for them to deal with, and much else besides. It's a very unusual book, and you really need to read it for yourself!
Read more of this interview.