I grew up in Liverpool and yes, at heart I’m the stereotype – a warm-blooded enthusiast who likes nothing better than swinging between a good laugh and a good cry, and to whom silence is alien. People are endlessly interesting, and there’s so much about the world that I just need you to know! I studied languages as a route to reading even more books (including some really wacky stuff) and found a career in education.  Joe Faber and the Optimists is my second novel, prompted by the experience of my husband’s stroke, and serious comedy is the furrow I’m still ploughing now.  I’m a keen singer, and my upcoming novel – Amateurs  –  is about what happens when a slightly precious young composer collides with an amateur choir.