What would Daisy Buchanan want by her side on a desert island?

 … are you reading now?

Lots of books at once! Mona Of The Manor by Armistead Maupin – I’m a Tales Of The City fanatic and I don’t know how I missed this first time around.

I’m also loving Coterie Of Liars by Kate Weston, a deliciously dark book horror comedy. Think We Have Always Lived In The Castle meets Gossip Girl.

And I just read and adored Good For You by Lucy Vine, a hugely fun rom-com about a therapist who is struggling to work through her anger management issues.

I’ve also just finished The One Day You Were My Husband, by Rosie Walsh, a beautifully written, addictive romantic thriller that took my breath away.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 

… would you take to a desert island?

My favourite book is The Pursuit Of Love by Nancy Mitford. I’ve got a very precious collection of old editions that I’d bring with me, as long as I could protect them from sand and seawater. Or the complete Marian Keyes – if someone could publish all her brilliant books into one giant volume, I’d stay on the island for ever.

I’d also sneak anything by Cathy Rentzenbrink into my bag, her books are kind and wise and bring me so much comfort.

… first gave you the reading bug?

It has to be Little Women! I was enchanted by the story of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.

As someone with many sisters (five) it seemed as though the story had been written for me. It’s filled with such love, but the girls bicker and squabble in a very real way. I was inspired to take the characters and explore what their lives would be like now in my novel All Grown Up.

In Little Women, Marmee, the March girls’ mother, is endlessly selfless and giving. My character, Louisa March, is much more earthy and spiky. (To be fair, you’d be spiky if your adult daughters all moved back home on Christmas Eve with no warning . . .)

… left you cold?

I wanted to love Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. Lots of people tell me it’s their favourite book. It’s about art bringing people hope, but it was just too bleak for me. Life is hard and I’m craving books that make me laugh and bring joy. Maybe utopian fiction is going to be an emerging trend!