What I’m reading right now…I’m omnivorous. I’m reading Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England: How our Ancestors lived 200 Years Ago by Roy A Adkins and Leslie Adkins. I’m also reading Robyn Cadwallader’s atmospheric debut, The Anchoress, Christine Keneally’s The Secret History of the Human Race and the Moomin series.

My favourite book growing up (why?)… Hmm, that is a hard question, as I was a monster sized bookworm. I adored Victor Kellerher’s Master of the Grove, Penelope Lively’s The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, The Mystical Beast by Alison Farthing and Pippi Longtocking by Astrid Lindgrin. She was a red haired heroine when I needed her.

My all time favourite book is (why?)… Wuthering Heights – the language is electric, it’s like reading a thunderstorm. And the structure like a Matryoshka doll.

The book I would recommend everyone to read (why?)… Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter. A vivid and wild read with a larger than life heroine, that folds you into the story as you read it. It will make you think you can smell Fevver’s violet perfume when you close the last page.

The book I wish I wrote…The Passion by Jeanette Winterson – so concise and enchanting, it really knocked my socks of when I first read it, the mix of history and imagination. The language. It’s gorgeous. “You play, you win, you play, you lose. You play. It’s the playing that’s irresistible...”

My guilty reading pleasure is… children’s novels and picture books (except that I don’t feel guilty!) I love the whole art and skill of picture books, the marriage between text and words. And children’s novels. Last year I devoured the Lucy Boston’s Greenknowe series, this year, I’m off in Moomin Valley. And I’m particularly fond of Moominmama and Snuffkin.

The book on my bookshelf that I have never read… a self published book on my mother’s side of the family. I must get onto that. I’m a family tree fanatic  - I love the loops and echoes, the resilience of determination, the heroic and the not so heroic characters that are part of all our DNA. George Elliot says it best “for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” And I love a good family secret too!

The book that never should have been turned into a film… Possession by AS Byatt. The novel was just so strong that I don’t think many screenwriters could adapt. Maybe it would have been better as a series to give the narrative time to unfold?

My book is… The Bird’s Child – a story of three misfits set in a boarding house in Sydney in 1929. One is a young Jewish man with a mysterious tattoo and the desire to be a magician. One is a chancer, a returned soldier, under a delusion that the world can bend to his will. And the last, is a mysterious runaway, a girl from the bush, trying to escape the grief of her mother.

I’ll never forget… The elderly musician who came up to me in Doolin and told me he knew my father and proceeded to play me a song on his flute. He was famous folk musician Micho Russell, he died not long after in a car accident. It meant a lot to me to be considered a local to have that moment of belonging. And the song was magical. It was about a swan. 

My favourite place is… Ireland. I’ve not been back for 20 years, but it has etched itself on my heart and mind. I backpacked with my best friend and had many amazing adventures. I wonder if one can have adventures off the grid now?

The most dangerous thing I have ever done is… got into the back of a youth hostel van that had no seats. Just my friend and I. We were the only women staying there with fishermen who were working the coast. It was very intimidating. When we put on lipstick before going to the pub, the fishermen made a lot of fuss. I hadn’t realized how progressive Australia was. Luckily for us, a lovely Canadian boy arrived and balanced things out a bit. Quite gallant really.

The first time I… went on overseas trip to UK and Ireland in 1994. It really opened my eyes – the strange bird song, the smells, the history, the sense of homeland in the rural areas. It really hit home about my cultural heritage, these were the places my ancestors had been forced out of. Their sense of loss is unfathomable.

I regret… that somewhere between 30 and now that my handwriting exploded into fireworks – it used to be neat and round and a little bit babyish, now it is Doctor’s scrawl. I blame computers.

I remember… my first day at school. I drew a bear in a cage. A wild thing in a small space. That is somehow a metaphor for my life.

The one piece of advice I should have listened to but didn’t… don’t join Twitter. It eats time. I like all the positive connections, but sometimes I think I should be reading a book instead.

I love… getting letters and packages from overseas. Hand written envelopes and letters, so rare these days. So as you can imagine I’m on very good terms with my postman and post office, first name basis and all.

I hate… bad manners. It’s very Mary Poppins of me I know, but I can’t help it.

I wish… I lived in a house that had space for everything, was neat and cosy, a place for everything, including a library. And lovely garden. And a pet Raven. And that I could play the violin.

I can’t say no to… books! There is not enough shelf space. Ever.

Yesterday, I… cracked on with trying to order my research for my next book into some sort of order. There are 500 pages of primary sources and I hear it rustle in the night, whispering its secrets, asking to be let out into the light. I’m working on it.