She has built up a devoted following of readers thanks to books like Three Amazing Things About You, The One You Really Want and the The Unpredictable Consequences Of Love.
Jill has written all her 27 books by hand. You And Me, Always is out now (Headline Review, Hardback £16.99, Kindle £8.50)
When we went on a cruise for the first time I absolutely fell in love with the idea.
I know it’s not for everyone. I’m a person who always likes to have tons to do on a holiday and the thought of lying on an empty beach on a sun lounger leaves me cold.
The first time we went on a cruise we absolutely adored it. The children adored it. We didn’t see them because they were off with their friends, and it was so completely safe.
We loved visiting different cities in different countries every day, and there were so many things to do.
On a cruise you can find yourself going to a belly-dancing class followed by a lecture about astronomy, it’s just endless. There’s as much activity as you want. I think that’s my fear. I’m scared of getting bored.
People say “I wouldn’t like to be trapped on a ship”, but it really doesn’t feel as if you are trapped because the ships are huge.
If you find yourself near people you don’t like, you can move away from them! At the end when you get off you see loads of people you’ve never seen on board.
We’ve done the Caribbean, going across the Atlantic, round the Caribbean and then back across. Otherwise we have sailed from Southampton and done Mediterranean and Adriatic cruises.
The next one we want to do is Scandinavia. Iceland is so strange and magical.
There are so many different things to do and see. You can strike up lovely friendships, but you arrange to meet up with people, you don’t get stuck with them.
I’ve done a couple of signings on board when they found out I was there.
One of my friends, the author Milly Johnson, absolutely adores giving talks on cruise ships but it’s not my favourite thing to do.
It’s my holiday and once I’m on board I prefer to be anonymous.
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Author Jill Mansell on her latest book You and Me, Always
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