Catherine Alliott started her first novel under the desk when she worked as an advertising copywriter. She was duly fired. With time on her hands she persevereed with the novels, which happily flourished. In the early days, she produced a baby with each book, but after three stuck to the writing as it was less painful. She writes with the nearest pen in exercise books, either in the garden or on a sofa. Home is a rural spot on the Herts/Bucks borders which she shares with her family and a menagerie of horses, cows, chickens and dogs, which at the last count totalled thirty-four beating hearts, including her husband. Some of her household have walk-on parts in her novels, but only the chickens would probably recognise themselves. The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton is her tenth book and first for Penguin.

Additional information:

- She's scared of computers.

- She's hopeless at reversing but always leaves a note.

- She's better than she looks at tennis.

Evie Hamilton has a secret. . . one she doesn't even know about. Yet. . .

Wife of successful, handsome husband Ant and mother of high-achieving, accomplished daughter Anna, Evie's biggest worry in life is whether or not she can fit a manicure in on her way to fetch Anna from clarinet lessons. She doesn't think about much else outside her own, charmed circle. There simply isn't time.

But all that is about to change. One sunny Oxford morning a letter - a ticking time-bomb - lands on Evie's immaculate doormat and up-ends Evie's comfortable life. Something she could never have anticipated has been waiting in the wings to sabotage everything she holds dear, and it's not going away. She will have to reappraise everything in her carefully arranged universe.

But Evie is a fighter and she will fight for what she loves. And in the process, find there is more to her than she thought, and more to her life.

What will remain? What will change forever? And can a woman's entire world really be as fragile as her best china?