Adele Parks The much-loved bestselling women’s fiction writer

Adele lives in Surrey with her husband, son and cat.

What are you doing this Christmas?

We’re going to my sister’s and it will be a big family occasion. I’m really looking forward to it. We go to a panto on Christmas Eve, then wake early to open gifts, and have a huge, late lunch. Christmas is about who you are with.

Which book will you be giving? All the Light We Cannot See by anthony Doerr (4th Estate) was recommended to me recently (although it was first published a few years ago). I read it and was swept away – it’s beautiful, epic and enthralling. I know Mum will love it too so I’ll be popping a copy in her stocking. Which book would you like to receive? I’m hoping for Anatomy of a Scandal by sarah Vaughan (s&s). For some reason I haven’t got around to reading this and I’ve heard good things about it.

Which book has influenced you? Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes (Penguin) gave me the confidence to submit an unsolicited manuscript to an agent. I remember reading it while I was writing my first novel, Playing Away. I thought Marian had such a warm, funny but truthful way of writing, and I saw she was really doing well by being herself. It gave me the confidence to find my voice.

Adele’s new novel, I Invited Her In (HQ), is out now