Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory, 55, is the author of 27 bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl. She lives with her husband Anthony Mason and her 16-year-old son in Yorkshire. She also has a daughter and four stepchildren.
I met Anthony more than 25 years ago when we worked together in Hartlepool. Our ways parted and we didn't see each other for about 20 years, but he knew about my writing and heard me on the radio, and I remembered him as one of the most interesting men I'd ever met. When I was divorced and single again, I thought I'd get in touch so I faxed him at his office saying, "Would you like to meet for a drink some time?" He replied, "Any time, anywhere." How fantastic is that?
I remember our first morning of marriage. It was the day England was defeated by Germany in a penalty shoot-out in 2002, and we were in a hotel in the Lake District. At about 8am there was a knock on the door and Anthony's best friend and one of our witnesses, Derek, was there saying, "The TV doesn't work in my room." So I sat up in bed between these two blokes watching the match and thought, "This isn't married life as I expected it, but it'll do."
Being a stepmother has worked out very well for me. I love my stepchildren very much. Having my own children helps because, when others come into your life, you want to give them the same affection and opportunities you give to your own.
I find it harder to write battle scenes than to write about sex. I don't see sex as being different to any other activity and it's worth writing about because it sometimes works as a metaphor for the relationship. It can be an act of power or perhaps an act of absolute love, unity and tenderness, so you can show that.
My new novel The White Queen is about Elizabeth Woodville, the first English queen who was a commoner and not even a virgin, but a widow with two sons. She met Edward IV to ask for her land back - and married him within six weeks. It was a marriage of passion and so disastrous politically he kept it a secret for as long as he could.
I don't shop as much as a lot of people but I do like designer clothes. I have a beautiful yellow-silk Gucci dress that's just a simple bodice with spaghetti straps - how can it have cost so much? It was about £1,000 and is the most expensive item of clothing I've ever bought.
I'm a country girl at heart. I love going to London for a couple of days but I need to be in the country. I like the silence, the smell and the seasonal changes, especially in spring and summer. I really feel that I belong there.
At my age nothing's going to improve spontaneously so I'm on a continuous maintenance programme! I try to go to the gym three times a week and I swim too. I like to feel fit and that I could run for a
bus if I needed to.
I don't think plastic surgery is a bad thing for me or anybody else, but I hope that when I reach a point when I really need to have some, there'll be other ways of doing it. As for the odd bit of filler or plumping - why not?
Success means that you stop worrying about things. I'm the person I always was but I worry less than I used to. I'm happier in my work and I'm financially secure, so I'm not frantic about debt or work. I'm at peace.
The White Queen (£18.99, Simon & Schuster) is out now in hardback.
