One of my strengths as a writer (so I'm told) is my characters. I've always been a people watcher, and if I'm honest have been let down by a lot of people in the past. My husband's favourite saying is, 'You can always rely on people to let you down.' Up until now, I'd say that was true, but I've drawn on those experiences, using them to define real characters in my books - particularly the flawed ones, which are always great fun to create! Recently though, having gone through a bad patch in my life, which came out of the blue and knocked me for six, I discovered that you can also rely on some people to raise their game for you and so not let you down! I have been overwhelmed by a group of people who have supported me with love and friendship, enabling me to come back from a pretty dark place, which I hope never to go to again! Faith in human nature restored, and I feel so thankful to have them in my life! Every cloud does indeed have a silver lining!