I thought about chapter headings for this book but in the end I didn’t use them. The idea I had was of names of celebrity couples on second and third marriages – but I reckoned that it would probably be out of date too quickly!

My thought process behind this book was how difficult it actually is to untangle your emotions from old relationships, although celebrities make it seem really easy.

Far From Over is probably one of my most ‘domesticated’ books because it’s rooted very firmly in the issue of marriage breakdown. Careers take second place to relationships in this book – although one of the reasons Gemma thinks her marriage ran into trouble was that her ex-husband spent too much time in the office. But that was a symptom, not a cause of the break up.

It’s also a book in which I look at the affect of divorce and remarriage on children. I think children crave stability above all else but adults often make decisions which threaten that. It’s not easy for children to accept new people in their lives – which is why, I guess, there are so many stories about wicked stepmothers! (It’s a storyline I might come to sometime in the future. I have an idea bubbling away in the back of my head.)

Another relationship in Far From Over that’s quite tricky is the one between Gemma’s mother, Frances, and herself. In my mind Frances has never really respected Gemma’s choices and hasn’t given her daughter enough credit for being able to manage her own life. So Frances blames Gemma in many ways for the marriage breaking down.

But of course the big triangle is between Gemma, the first wife, Orla, the second wife, and David, the husband. I think men can sometimes be quite naïve in thinking that things will work themselves out. They forget that a lot of time and energy has to go in to making that happen.

One scene in the book does have a basis in fact. That’s the one where Orla is cooking a meal and leaves a plastic bowl on a hot cooker plate. Naturally it melts and her vegetables are ruined. In my case art imitated life and life imitated art too. I once left a plastic tub near the gas hob, not realising it was still on. After a few minutes the worst smell in the whole world made its way around the house. It made everyone’s eyes water and we had to go out for dinner…..(well, there have to be some compensations!)

I thought that might easily be something that would happen to Orla but I never thought it would happen to me again! Not so long ago the chopping board was near the hob and…well, you get the idea. It was another night of eating out though!!