1) I was born in January 1959. I want people to know that because I think age is like shoe-size -- we should just accept where we are, with no fuss.
Laura Lippman
2) I'm not a natural blonde. We don't have to accept everything about ourselves.
3) According to most people, I'm not even the most talented writer in my house. Almost everyone rates my husband higher. I'm OK with that. They're wrong, but I'm still OK with that.
4) I feel better about the world if I come downstairs to a very tidy kitchen every morning. And if I make the bed and do the breakfast dishes before I take my daughter to school, I feel even better.
5) As a feminist, I hate myself for caring about the kitchen, the bed and the breakfast dishes.
6) I'm not ashamed of anything I love, and that includes the "Real Housewives" reality TV franchise.
7) I am pretty fit for a 56-year-old.
8) I carry grudges, but I consider that part of my fitness regimen.
9) I re-read my favorite childhood books.
10) I'm a raving extrovert.
Hush Hush by Laura Lippman is out now (Faber & Faber, £12.99)