My Secret Life: Daisy Waugh, novelist

I drive/ride ... a bike mostly so I can avoid all the cameras around London.

If I have time to myself ... I read trashy novels and play tennis.

You wouldn't know it but I'm very good at ... tennis! Before babies, I played seven times a week.

You may not know it but I'm very bad at ... reading maps, driving, keeping cool, cooking, waiting, listening to other people's opinions, using curling tongs, anything to do with blood and guts.

A book that changed me ... a Dickens book, but I can't even remember which one. Possibly A Tale of Two Cities. I was intensely lonely, living in a small town in Kenya and I remember feeling this rush of love and gratitude for Dickens.

Movie heaven ... Interview with the Vampire. Very sexy.

Comfort eating ... Bangers and mash, and McVities plain chocolate biscuits.

My biggest regret ... that I haven't had a lot more babies.

When I was a child I wanted to be ... a news cameraman. I practised saying things like, 'OK for sound, Bill?' in front of the mirror. I still don't know if that's what they say, but it sounds about right.

I wish I'd never worn ... that short perm. Unlike all my other bad choices, I was stuck with that one for months.

All my money goes on ... tennis. I've spent a fortune on lessons and on tennis camps around the world. And age-defying skin lotions which don't work.

It's not fashionable but I like ... Maxwell House powdered coffee, Margaret Thatcher and Simon and Garfunkel.

At night I dream of ... aceing Tim Henman.

My favourite work of art ... Adoration of Old Men by Stanley Spencer.

The soundtrack to my life ... chatter. I find background music quite irritating. I hate it played loud.

The best invention ever is ... melted cheese.

'Bed of Roses' by Daisy Waugh is published by HarperCollins on 3 May as a paperback original, price pounds 6.99

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