Oh, this shouldn't be allowed. There should be a rule which says that people you've met in the gym should never meet you in real life.

I chose to publish the first 'Shopaholic' book under a pseudonym because I wanted it to be judged on its own merits.

People who want to make a million borrow a million first

Suddenly I've had enough of all this. I've had enough of being made to feel insecure and paranoid and wondering what's going on

My real name is Madeleine Wickham, under which I write dramas with an edge of humour. As Sophie Kinsella its fast, all-out comedies, such as the Shopaholic series.

I don't think anyone sits down and thinks, 'I know, I'll be a chick-lit writer.' You write the book that you want to write and then other people say, 'Oh, that's chick-lit.' You say, 'Okay.' But it's not like you look around and go to a careers fair and there will be someone at the chick-lit author stand.

You're so narrow-minded! You live in the same village you grew up in, you run the family business, you're buying a nursery down the road... you're practically still in the womb. So before you lecture me on the way to live my life, try living one of your own, OK?