My ideal relaxation is working on upholstry. I spend hours in junk shops buying furniture. I do all the upholstery work myself, and it's like therapy.

The hardest thing in the world is to have a relationship, to be committed to one person and feel vulnerable. Recently one of my son's came to me and said ''it's hard for me to have a relationship, you and dad have been married three times each.''

Good Viking genes, being vegetarian and having rowdy dogs and kids definitely keep me in shape. Not eating meat gives me the energy I need to keep up with work, family and travel - I'm very active.

I don't really think about anything too much. I live in the present. I move on. I don't think about what happened yesterday. If I think too much, it kind of freaks me out.

Yeah, I finished, it was hard. Those last five miles. It was like giving birth and then being told to run as you're giving birth. It was so much pain in my hips. I don't know if women are meant to run, especially after having kids.

When I'm lonely, frustrated or hurt it usually comes from a male person and from unrequited love. I often carry that pain around with me and my ribs actually start to ache. That's when I sit down and write.

I don't consider myself a feminist, but I feel very empowered as a woman, and I've used all my resources widely. I believe in equality, but that's just naturally happening. I still want a door opened for me, to be treated like a lady, but I also want equal rights for women, of course.