I hear ‘Why do you write? a lot, especially now I’m grand and get to do the occasional interview. It’s a natural question to ask anyone who does something like this, because it certainly ain’t for the money.

I have a confession to make (as usual): I was incredibly snobbish about publishing at the beginning. I had this idea in my head that I had to get a literary agent and be traditionally published in order for it ‘to count’.