I wrote my first book at the tender age of 17. There were some good ideas in there, but my naivety and total lack of knowledge about my subject, shone through. My second book, at 18, was better. It was a silly set of stories about a large sweet shop owner, called Mr Jolly. The joke was, that he was anything but jolly. He was nasty, selfish, and pompous. A big publisher showed interest, but didn't take it up. I learnt my first important lesson about writing. If you enjoy it, carry on, even if you are drowning under a mountain of rejection slips. I wrote a couple of sit-coms in my 20's and was generally consumed by partying and life, before returning to my first love, which is writing books. And I do love writing books. I have written several and each one has been a joy. For me, plot is only a loose structure, for once I have good characters, they take over the plot, they drive it forwards. With great characters, the writing process is easy, for if they have sufficient depth and I know them intimately, I am merely the vessel that writes down what they say and do. Of course I have to do the research, make some decisions about challenges they may face etc, but the fact is that the characters are in charge. Once I have an idea I like, the theme of my book, I look for my characters. Of course, I draw upon people that I have met or observed in real life (but have only used aspects of their character rather than a total steal!), and sometimes I look inwardly to create a good character. When I was writing childrens' stories, I listened to my inner child and developed the theme that enthused him. For 'Dominic And His Daydreams', (not currently available, the publisher controversially went out of business, it's a long story) I drew upon my own experience as a child. I was an avid reader and always daydreaming about going into those exciting worlds of the books I read. So the protagonist, Dominic, becomes a Fictionalis Special Agent, going into books and getting involved in wonderful adventures. I wrote 'Sweets That Eat Children!', inspired by my lifelong love of Roald Dahl. My new book, 'Serendipity' is a thriller/satire/spiritually uplifting novel. Many influences there, but Paulo Coelho deserves special mention. His profound body of work taught me that I could infuse a spiritually uplifting element into my work. I am currently working on a new satire/thriller, not sure how it is going to end. That's up to the characters - they're autonomous!