I love both history and crime, and I have always loved to write, so I ended up writing historical crime fiction. I also have a fascination with the people in the background of other people’s stories – while the hero is off being a hero, what does the women he left at home do? I think they have stories of their own to tell, so I started to write the story of Mrs Hudson and Mary Watson.

I have a degree in English from Brunel University, and I have, among other jobs, worked in McDonalds, libraries and the local council.