I began writing fiction in 2005 as a direct result of watching Richard Armitage smouldering irresistibly in the BBC’s adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South. My first effort was a North and South ‘fanfic’ after which, having limbered up using someone else’s characters, I went on to have a shot at inventing my own. I had only ever written academic legal articles and monographs before, so fiction came as a huge relief – no footnotes, and you are just allowed to make it up.
My first novel, More Than Love Letters, was published by Headline Review in 2006, followed by Hearts and Minds in 2007. A third novel, Crossed Wires, is due for release in December 2008. Having got 1850s cotton mills out of my system with the fanfic, I now write contemporary fiction of a type which you might either call romantic comedy with a hint of satire, or else social satire with a hint of romance.
In my real existence I am a lecturer at Cambridge University, where I try to be more serious now and again. At home putting up with my writing obsession are my partner, two young daughters, and spaniels Treacle and W.G. Snuffy Walden.
Visit my website at http://rosythornton.com/
or contact me at rt104@cam.ac.uk