Q  Were you sporty at school?
A  No! But my mum was captain of almost every school team and even played cricket for Essex. I went to the same school and the P.E. teacher who had taught her thirty years earlier couldn’t wait to meet me. I’m afraid that five minutes into my first hockey lesson she was sadly disappointed. I was good at table tennis though, because we had no car but kept a ping pong table in the garage instead. My dad also made a mini putting course in the garden, with home-made flags.
Q  Do you watch sport now?
A  I enjoy Wimbledon and cricket when I have time to watch and find gymnastics awe-inspiring, but my favourite is athletics, which I associate with my dad. As a teenager I went with him to meetings at Crystal Palace and we always cheered on the Brits we liked from the sofa too, especially in the 4 X 400m relay.
Q Why athletics?
A  I like the raw simplicity of running and the fact that some of the greatest athletes are from poor countries and have succeeded by running up mountains, sometimes in bare feet. Some sports are only for people with money and expensive training facilities but athletics is about the individual and his or her body and mind.
Q  Do you have to be interested in sport to enjoy LAP OF THE GODS?
A  Definitely not. It’s about using your brain too. It’s also about identity, and relationships. And the world of ancient Athens is fascinating. Their attitudes were very different from ours in many ways but they valued courage and determination – and athletes aren’t the only people who need those. Fans of my books will know that I often write about kind of strength that is nothing to do with muscles.