Well, it's fitting that I have a book out in the last week of the 2010s (the UK paperback of THOSE PEOPLE), since I seem to have spent most of the decade writing. Since 2010, I have had seven novels published in the UK, the last two of which have also been published in the US, a longtime ambition of mine. Here they are in my living room, alongside the Nibbie I won for OUR HOUSE in 2019 (that was not even on my radar, let alone an ambition). A huge thank you to everyone who has bought, read or reviewed my work - or taken the trouble to contact me to say something nice, because, believe me, some days that has been the difference between keeping going and just sitting with the cat feeling sorry for myself. (As Morrissey said, 'I am human and I need to be loved/Just like everybody else does'...) Here is a pic of the magnificent seven - and A Very Happy New Year from me!

I TOTALLY love University Challenge (and, of course, David Nicholls' book Starter For Ten), so you can imagine my excitement when my name came up in an episode this week! And, if you're reading this, you'll probably be better at answering than Clare College, Cambridge...

To celebrate the publication of THOSE PEOPLE in paperback, you can get it half price from WH Smith with a special voucher in the Daily Mail! And there you were thinking you'd retired the scissors after wrapping a thousand Christmas pressies... Enjoy!

I'm thrilled to find THOSE PEOPLE in the Daily Mail's Best Novels to Put Under the Tree! Books are the best gifts, especially signed copies or editions with sprayed edges. There might still be a few hardbacks of THOSE PEOPLE with teal edges - or you could always wait till Boxing Day for the paperback and ORANGE edges...