Daisy Waugh

One could be forgiven for thinking that she might have decided upon one of those careers before reaching fiction. But then, given her literary heritage (her grandfather was Evelyn Waugh), it's perhaps not surprising at all.

Born in 1967, Waugh was a journalist and travel writer for many publications, among them The Independent, as well as a presenter and contributor for various TV and radio programmes. In the late 80s however, she turned her hand to fiction, and the resulting books, What is the matter with Mary Jane?, The New You Survival Kit and a travel book about her experiences living in Northern Kenya, A Small Town in Africa, were very well received and have generated a loyal following.

She says that her latest novel, Bordeaux Wives is based on the experiences of her real-life ex-nanny. "She used to tell me, quite openly that she had friends in Italy who were all making passports." While only loosely based on these first-hand experiences, Bordeaux Wives is all about the lives of the wives in a climate of sunshine, good food and fine wine.

Is it fair to call it chick-lit? Waugh is upfront about her work: "All my light fiction is about wish fulfilment…It's aspirational and glamorous…It's supposed to be light fiction: I'd be mortified if anyone tried to take it seriously. " She also notes that the 'impossibility of being a woman' - balancing family and work commitments - is well suited to writing, as all of this novel was written first thing in the morning before her children woke up, although she's at pains to point out that it's not an easy way out: "What I write, I write to the best of my ability."

Bordeaux Wives is priced £6.99, as is available from all good bookshops now.