By day I am a freelance journalist living in the countryside; by night I'm a novelist shrieking with laughter every time I think up a good joke. All my books are romantic, and they all have happy endings, because I think that's everyone's secret dream.

I started writing when my daughter was a baby because touring with a theatre company doesn't mix with changing nappies. (I was an actress.) My first paid work was writing jokes for greetings cards. I was paid £15 for each joke, but to be honest some of the "jokes" they bought were actually friendly comments I added on the end of the faxes.

When I'm writing the first draft of a book, I disappear into that world. I live and dream it and write every waking minute of the day. I don't answer the phone or even the door, I just touch type at around 1,000 words an hour. I don't bother about spelling or even being coherent, I just work in a creative frenzy. At the end I'm exhausted, but suddenly the first draft exists!

My heroines are all very strong, empowered women who refuse to play second fiddle to any man. They do things we'd all like to do. Camilla, my heroine in 'I Married a Pirate', pulls a gun on the hero - and who hasn't wanted to do that? And Rosie (In the Doghouse) is so wrapped up in her dogs that she simply doesn't notice that the most famous sex symbol in the world has moved into her crumbling chateau. She just thinks he's a bit of a nuisance! I adore women whose lives don't revolve around a man. My heroines are generally the women I aspire to be: brave, funny and determined to live life on their own terms.