Because of the Bridget Jones phenomenon, everyone seemed to think that women in their thirties were man-starved, incompetent, ditzy and frazzled.

Ash, my heroine in this book, is anything but. If anything she's far too cool and composed on the outside - although she does suffer from panic attacks which can be terrifying for her and which mean that she has to shove her head into a paper bag to stop hyperventilating.

She hates making commitments to men, if she thinks a relationship is getting serious she ends it immediately. I wanted to write about someone who was seeming self-contained and had everything going for her, but who had a more difficult private life that people around her suspected.

A partial inspiration for the book is the Whitney Huston song Run To You. In the book, Ash is a chef, and so each chapter heading is a recipe. Some are ones I've done myself, others are donated by friends. I have to confess to being a one-pot cook as much as possible!

Reviews

• A nice read for bus journeys and rainy days. Touching and funny – Woman’s Way
   
• The story is gripping and, in the manner of a soap-opera, you can’t stop yourself tuning in regularly to find out what happens – Sunday Tribune