I once rubbed shoulders with Brad Pitt. Yes, I literally rubbed my shoulder against his as he passed me in a VIP room at the premiere of Guy Ritchie's Snatch while I was working as a PR manager. This is what I loved about working in PR, meeting celebs, sipping champagne and eating all the canapes the stick-thin models bypassed at various parties.
Tracy Buchanan
I wrote my first novel The Atlas of Us after doing a short Open University creative writing course. I did the course while working at the OU in the department responsible for co-producing popular series with the BBC such as Frozen Planet, Stargazing LIVE and Coast. I now write for a living but look back on my time at the OU with fondness.
I came up with the idea for my latest novel while walking my daughter. A young man came walking towards us. He was perfectly innocent-looking. But a thought suddenly entered my mind: what if he attacked us? From there, a whole storyline unravelled.
I once got attacked by a kangaroo. Okay, 'attacked' might be a bit of an exaggeration. It tried to jump on my back while I was in Australia writing an article for the travel magazine I used to edit.
I'm fascinated by real-life crimes. You know the kind of documentaries I mean? The ones where they have an ex-detective or top forensic psychologists charting a tragic case. That's what led to me writing novels like No Turning Back, a fascination with the darkness that lies within.
It took me five years to conceive my little girl. Five long years battling infertility! But after three rounds of IVF, I finally got what I wanted, my beautiful little girl Scarlett, now a wild toddler tornado who runs me ragged but makes me very happy.
I have a one-eyed Jack Russell called Archie. He rules the roost in my house alongside Scarlett. They are King and Queen of the Buchanan household, my husband and I their humble servants.
I learnt about my first book deal at the same time my baby had a nappy explosion When I got the email from my agent telling me I'd got a two-book deal with HarperCollins, my baby girl was experiencing an explosion in the nappy department. I had to quickly deal with that, put her down for a nap then ran outside to scream in joy so as not to wake her. I think my neighbours must have thought I was mad!
I'd love to own a house by the sea. I've always loved the idea of living on the coast ever since I used to visit family in Sussex as a child. I think that's why I set my novels by the sea. It's not just how beautiful seaside resorts are, but also the darkness that might lurk beneath the happy exteriors, like Ridgmont Waters, the seaside town in No Turning Back. But for now I'll remain living in good old Buckinghamshire, most of my family and friends are here after all. But one day…
I'm addicted to Lypsyl. It's been an addiction of mine since childhood. I own about a hundred Lypsyls but can never seem to find one when I desperately need to. One of my friends believes this addiction suggests psychotic tendencies. I disagree. Having said that, a Lypsyl-addicted serial killer sounds like an interesting character….
