I was born in a blackout, in a blizzard, by candlelight.
This is true, although it sounds like I've made it up for purposes of authenticity.
My birth took place in my Mum and Dad's bedroom in Great Wakering, which is the last point of mainland Essex, around 40 miles from London, if that helps with locating it.
I mention so much detail about my birth because I have, of course, gone on to write a trilogy of books about snow. Admittedly, I did this over 4 decades since the event, but I blame delayed shock.
Fast forward through the usual primary school / secondary school/sixth form shennanigans (I never made it to University) and ended up by accident at BBC Radio One after dressing as a girl and infiltrating a Ladies' toilet in an Essex nightclub.
This sounds way more perverse than it should do - I was, in fact, writing an article on "What Women Talk About When Men Aren't Around". I didn't get killed, a Radio One DJ saw the article and I ended up working as the runner there at the age of 19. By accident, I started writing for one of their most popular shows, "Steve Wright In The Afternoon" and that led me on to professional writing full time. So to sum up - I love music and snow, and hence I write about both. Often at the same time.