It was a snowy night and I was worried about getting home to Bristol because I had to be at work in the hospital by nine the next morning. So that's what I did, and the end result was Fast Friends.Ī little story to finish with: Fast Friends was bought by Transworld Books and, before it was published, I was invited along to the incredibly glitzy British Book Awards in London. Eventually I decided to write the kind of book I would love to read, which was basically Riders, minus all the horsey bits because I knew nothing about horses. Having attempted a few Mills & Boons, I kept getting told I was putting too much humour into them. Reading an article in a magazine about women who had changed their lives by becoming best-selling authors, I decided that this was something I needed to try for myself. I was working at the time in a neurological hospital, longing to change my life. It's no exaggeration to say it felt like coming home. I was in love with the style of writing, the glorious Cotswold settings, the irresistible characters. Contemporary fiction with glamour, drama, sizzling sexual shenanigans and humour – well, I hadn't realised such a genre existed before. I'd enjoyed her earlier writings, but this was a revelation, a whole new level of fabulousness. I honestly don't think I could describe how much I loved Riders, by Jilly Cooper, when it first came out. She tells Novelicious how Riders influenced her writing when she was starting out. Her new book, The Unpredictable Consequences of Love, is out on the 30th January. Jill Mansell is the bestselling author of over 20 novels. This post was originally published at and is now at.

Riders by Jilly Cooper