Under the microscope

Best-selling author Lynda La Plante, 77 takes our health quiz

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

I LIVE in a three-storey house, so there are many stairs. I also walk every morning with my cockapoo, Max.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

MOST definitely. I like a proper cooked lunch with broccoli and carrots, and I also snack on fruit.

EVER DIETED?

I HAVE sometimes, but I’m very fortunate because I’m quite small. I’m 5ft 2in and normally a size 8 but I think I’m a size 10 now. I’m not somebody that likes chocolate. I never eat cake.

POP ANY PILLS?

I TAKE vitamin D every day [for healthy bones] and vitamin C if I feel rundown. I’ve also been taking statins [to reduce cholesterol] for five years.

ANY VICES?

RHUBARB and ginger gin. I have it with sugar-free lemonade or tonic most days at around five o’clock. Liquorice Allsorts are a treat — in small doses.

WORST ILLNESS/INJURY?

THE past two years have been the most difficult, as I’ve had problems with my neck and eyesight. I work long hours hunched over a typewriter and, one day, I got an electric-type shock in my neck. I had eight operations to fix discs which were not aligned properly — but it didn’t help with the pain. In 2019, I had an ablation procedure, which did fix the problem. I had cataract surgery, too. I had both eyes done at the same time, so I was unable to work on the computer and had to dictate my latest book.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

I HAVE had plenty of experience of it, so I am very good with it.

TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES?

I TRIED it when my neck was bad and now have a wonderful masseuse.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

I’VE FELT quite low because of the issues with my neck and eyesight over the past two years.

HANGOVER CURE?

I DON’T drink to excess, so I don’t get hangovers.

EVER HAVE COSMETIC SURGERY?

YOU only have to watch the TV show Botched. You wouldn’t want it after that.

IS SEX IMPORTANT?

I THINK it is if you have a wonderful relationship.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE?

MY BOOK plots. I can be ready to crash when I suddenly think: ‘I put the man in the room at the wrong time. If he’s in the room, he couldn’t have done the murder.’ I wake up in the morning — after an average of six hours’ sleep — and the plot is sorted.

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

NO, but I’d like to see my son Lorcan married with a child.

BURIED is out now in paperback, eBook and audiobook.