When did you first start writing?

I started to write at a very young age - I can remember writing stories about my toys when I was about seven, but my mum claims it started even earlier than that. At secondary school and college I wrote short stories and bad poetry, as well as factual pieces for the local newspaper and things like that. I started to write a novel when I was about fifteen. I had the whole story mapped out in my head, but only managed to write the first few chapters. Years and sixteen novels later (I wrote six before I was published) this pattern still forms the basic framework of my working 'method' - the thinking and plotting and research is still the most fun and exciting part, the actual writing takes grit and focus that I clearly didn't have at the age of fifteen. And nothing beats the euphoria of actually finishing a book. I get a sense of mad freedom, if only for a few weeks before thoughts of the next one start to gather.

When did you finish writing your first book?

I completed my first novel in 2000, while living in Venice and working as an au pair. I was twenty-two years old, and I'd started writing it the year before but stalled at what I now know was merely 'the wall' - that difficult middle section of a novel when it all starts to seem like the worst book ever written! In Venice I found the time and the will to pick up the manuscript again, and there was a marked improvement to the second half I then wrote: in that short time, I'd already developed as a writer. I'll never forget the feeling of accomplishment in finishing that first draft. It was called A Pestilent People, and it was about witchcraft, which I'd studied during my degree. I think the idea was more or less sound, but the execution of it rather less so. It was the starting point of a steep learning curve!

Do you have any hobbies?

I love hiking, horse riding, cooking, and I'm an avid reader - I read all sorts of fiction, from crime to literary to fantasy to historical. I've got quite good at DIY, though it's more of a necessity than a hobby. I do enjoy trawling junk shops for things for the house, and sprucing up old bits of furniture - I've furnished the place almost entirely with secondhand things found from flea markets, charity shops and reclamation yards. I was a pony-mad child, though I never had my own horse, and competed a bit in my teens - mostly in show jumping. I continue to ride when I can, and I'd love to do one the world's great long distance rides - across the Patagonian Andes maybe, or along the old silk road across Mongolia.

Do you have a favourite place to be?

I have to say home! I spent almost two years slowly doing up my house, which is in a village not far from Bath, and now it is cosy and comfy and feels like a real haven - extra important when your home is also your place of work. I do like to travel, and get so excited when we're planning a trip somewhere, but coming home is also wonderful. Having grown up in the countryside, I love being outdoors as well - going for a long walk or a ride on a blowy day. The English countryside feels like home to me, too, and I will always love the landscapes we have here.

Do you enjoy travelling?

Yes I do - almost as much as I love coming home again afterwards! The more I travel the more I realise how much more there is to see, but I'm not a competitive traveller who counts the number of countries they've been to, or never goes back to the same place twice. So, if time and money allow, I try to visit a new country every couple of years or so, and to revisit places I love in between - Thailand, Ibiza (the quiet part), France and Italy. I've been lucky enough to travel to a few places on research trips for my books, and Oman, where I went to research The English Girl, was stunning. I'll definitely go back there in the future, if I get the chance. New Zealand, Argentina and Dominica are still on my wish list...

• View: The English Girl

We're coming to your place for dinner. What are you cooking?

I'm a pretty good cook, and I make great cakes. My grandma taught my mother, and my mother taught me, and I think if you get the basic skills early on in life you're then not afraid to try different things, and improve. I still have notable disasters (my first attempt at panna cotta last year resulted in inedible rubber balls you could have played squash with, and I recently made the world's blandest paella), but that's all part of the fun. If you were coming for dinner it might be coq au vin with duck fat chips, or something Mexican, followed by something involving cream and meringue - you can't go wrong.

What do you enjoy watching on TV?

I'm a bit addicted to TV detective shows - especially good old fashioned British ones. I think it started in my early teens, when I would watch The Inspector Wexford Mysteries and Inspector Morse with my mum. I love the skill of the storytelling, the trail of breadcrumbs the writers lay towards the big reveal - and seeing if I can get there first. Now a detective show is my favourite thing to curl up in front of on a night in - Lewis, Silent Witness, Vera, Unforgotten, Line of Duty. TV drama is so good these days! I'm not a fan of reality TV, though I make exceptions for Strictly and The Great British Bake Off.

Do you keep any pets?

It's a bit of a cliché for an author to have cats, but I have two. We always had a cat when I was growing up, and now a house just doesn't feel quite like a home without one. I have a small, stripy little madam called Meg, and a fat, black mog called Pole. Both were rescues and couldn't have more different personalities - Meg's into everything, the nosiest creature imaginable, and will eat literally anything she can steal; Pole sees danger in every shadow… I love animals. One day I'd like to have a small holding, and add dogs, horses, goats and chickens to the mix...