Amy Andrews was the kind of child who always had a story in her head. English was her favourite subject at school and she loved to write. Trouble is, once she started it was hard to stop her. Her teachers would ask for 100 words on her pet and she'd write 1000. They'd say, "Write a page describing your holiday," and she'd write 10. Editing has been a real challenge for Amy!

When she was growing up, her mother was always banging away on a typewriter, writing her own romance novel. It seemed to Amy a perfectly normal thing to do, and it was only natural for her, years later, to begin writing one herself - after all, she'd been sneaking off with her Mum's romance novels from the age of 11.

Amy wrote her first romance in 10 days whilst temporarily out of work and freezing her butt off in her first English winter. Getting out of the warmth of her bed was not an option, so to fill in her time she wrote the book that had been in her head for years. One chapter a day, for 10 days! Needless to say it was rejected, although it is still how she tends to write to this day - a chapter in a sitting.

On her return to Australia, Amy discovered Medical romances and, as a nurse, started to read them out of professional interest. After reading one where a doctor gave a patient a bedpan, she was spurred to switch genres and have a go at writing a medical herself. Never in all her years of nursing had she met a doctor who had, or would even consider, giving a patient a bedpan!

In the "real world" Amy is a part-time Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse and mother of two. Her goal is to write 20 books by the time she's forty.

What's your favourite flower? 
I adore flowers. I cant stand the "why waste your money on flowers when they're so expensive and are dead in a few days" attitude. The joy and beauty they give in those few days is worth every cent. It's hard to chose my favourite. If I absolutely had to pick one I'd stick with the rose. But I love the rebirth the plain old gerbera has had in the last few years.

What are you reading now?
Sadly, I don't get to read much these days and my TBR is always huge. But because of the holidays I was able to catch up on some of my reading. I've just finished 2 of Bob Mayers thrillers - The Rock and Area 51. As he's appearing with Jenny Crusie at the RWA conference this year and I'm such a fan of their collaborative work, I'd thought I'd read some of his stand alone stuff. And I really enjoyed them. I've also just started Margaret Whitlam's biography that my sister gave me for Xmas.

Who is your favourite Harlequin author? 
Oooh, not fair. Too many fav's there. I recently read "White Hot" by Trish Wylie and adored it and I got to meet her while I was I the UK in September and she's great. I've also had a sneak peak at Kelly Hunter's 2nd book Priceless and it's really good. Very funny. Two of my favourite Harlequin authors of all time no longer write for Harlequin but I simply cant get enough of Jenny Crusie for her wonderful heroines and quirky characters and Fiona Brand's special forces heroes still give me palpitations. And all my fellow med authors - such a wonderful bunch of writers and such a great line.

How many books have you written? 
I'm on book 12 now. An Unexpected Proposal is number 7.

What's your favourite vacation spot?
I love the beach. There's nothing quite like the sound of waves hitting the shore. I actually dont like to swim in the ocean but I could look at it all day. Combine that with a "charge it to the room" facility and I'm there. I'm afraid I'm not a camper. 

What's your favourite food? 
Oooh not fair again, too hard to name just one. I'm afraid, to my detrement, I'm a spongy pudding kind of a girl. Crumble and hot sweet pies and sticky steamed puds with lashings of hot custard. And seafood - crabs, lobster, prawns and bugs. Oh and caramel - give me caramel over chocolate any day. Okay, okay, I just love food

Do you have any pets?
Yes, we have two black labradors. They're 4 years old. Fonzie, the boy, is a mad, crazy thing who will play fetch all day. Lallie, his sister prefers a more sedate life and spends most of her days looking at her brother and shaking her head. It's funny, I've never really been an animal person, I was attacked by a dog as a child, but it's amazing how they're such an integral part of our lives. I know if anything ever happened to them I'd be devastated.

Before becoming a writer, what did you do? 
I was a nurse. Still am. I work in PICU. I'm hoping to be able to give that up in the next few years but I know I'll miss it terribly when I do. I still love it as much as I did in the beginning and I work with such a terrific bunch of people.

What's your favourite romance movie? 
No, no, no. Definitely can't chose this one. I have several. Love Actually, Notting Hill, Big Fat Greek Wedding, Four Weddings and a Funeral. And my latest add on is In Her Shoes - not strictly a romance but there was a love story in amongst all those beautiful, intricate, layers. I've also just recently watched To Sir With Love again which handled the whole topic of teenage crushes and first love so magnificently. Sidney Poitier....now there's a man.

Do you have a new book coming out? 
Yes,  An Unexpected Proposal is my latest.  Straight-laced GP Maddy meets wickedly alternative Homeopath Marcus. The clash of two very different philosophies and two very different personalities makes for very interesting times indeed. These two were made for each other. It just takes a lot of rebound sex and a meddling ex to make them realise it. I so enjoyed writing their story and giving them their HEA.