My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to get myself a job where I could travel. I did it for two years and had great fun.

We talk about globalization today as if it's some great big new thing, that we've all just discovered. But there's really nothing new about it.

I love time with family and friends, but completely relish time on my own when I have no agenda to follow, no to-do's, just me and time alone.

It's really important in any historical fiction, I think, to anchor the story in its time. And you do that by weaving in those details, by, believe it or not, by the plumbing.