If you’ve read the 'biography' section, you’ll see that I was writing Brown Leather Shoes while doing my GCSEs. You might wonder why, and in hindsight I think I might have taken on a bit much at once, but I’m always busy, and have a tendency to do everything at once. I’ve always had a passion for reading and writing and a vivid imagination, which is lethal when combined with an overactive mind (you might be reading this and relating to me – I seem to have far too many thoughts constantly zapping around, and a brain that never switches off). I often get ideas for stories in my mind and sometimes, when I like the idea, I play around with it a bit and might write some ideas down, or even a story opening. I usually get rid of it after a while, when I’ve exhausted the idea (and most probably myself).

When I first got the idea for Brown Leather Shoes, I played around with it a bit, wrote some ideas down, and it began to develop. I started writing the ideas into a story, editing as I wrote, the idea developing as I did so, but this time I just kept writing. I got hooked. Whenever I had any ‘free’ time, I would add to the story, or jot down some more ideas, or edit part of what I’d already written.

Suddenly I had a completed novel…