Femininity for me means happiness and freedom...freedom of being who you are in whatever shape or size you come in.

Youre supposed to be the leading lady in your own life, for Gods sake!

Everybody asks me this, whether I'm slightly annoyed that I didn't get to kiss Johnny Depp. We would have laughed.

I kept on going and I overcame my fears and got over my insecurities.

As a young girl, I never felt attractive. I was fat and unhappy at times, and that kind of thinking stays with you your entire life. There's always going to be a part of me that worries about not looking as slim as other actresses. But at a certain point, when you achieve a lot of your goals and you can be proud of your work, you start to relax more about who you are. And that includes your appearance and self-image - I don't think I look too bad for a mother of two. But women shouldn't have to feel the pressure to compare themselves to actresses or models.

You can't be a proper writer without a touch of madness, can you?

There's something really empowering about going, 'Hell, I can do this! I can do this all!' That's the wonderful thing about mothers, you can because you must, and you just DO.