For a perfect holiday I need my iPhone and my writing tools. I write all my books by hand so black felt pens and yellow legal pads are a must. And my eyebrow pencil. I'm very low-maintenance.

I've never been on safari because I've got a phobia of bugs. I just don't want things crawling on me when I'm sleeping. It's a shame given my passion for big cats. But I really enjoy photography, so I'd love to photograph leopards in the wild some day.

Agents are essential, because publishers will not read unsolicited manuscripts.

Love does not appear with any warning signs. You fall into it as if pushed from a high diving board.

I'm a storyteller; I write what I want to read.

I have visited Australia several times, and I always try to make a point of going to Melbourne because it's almost my favorite city there, Melbourne and Sydney. But I shouldn't say that because I haven't been everywhere-and I'm very fond of Perth too!

I think I'm a born storyteller. Inspiration is all around me. I can read a newspaper article and come up with an idea for a book.