Mrs Brown, my primary one teacher, told my mum I would be a writer when I grew up, which is weird as I struggled to learn to read and write.

She clearly knew what she was talking about, though. Once I got to grips with the difference between ‘b’ and ‘d’ and all the other baffling stuff, I went on to spend four decades as a journalist, writing and editing for national broadsheets, tabloids and magazines.

My first novel, Tandem, about love, loss, a celebrity penguin and riding a bike built for two, won the 2013 Hookline Novel Competition, judged by book groups from around the UK.

My second book, A Practical Guide to Camping, written with Suzanne Elsworth and Trevor Morgan, was published in 2022, and I’m working on a second novel and a memoir about women and autism.

A Scot living in voluntary exile in the English Lake District, when not writing, or raging about the misuse of apostrophes and other such crimes, I spend as much time as possible outdoors, walking, wild camping, rowing and kayaking, with my husband.

I’m a rowing coach and, as members of the international Border Rowers group, we helped set – and still hold – two indoor rowing endurance world records. Oh, and I’m also autistic.