I love reunion stories, especially when first loves meet years later. All those undercurrents as two people, older, (but not necessarily wiser), meet again, armed with stronger emotional defences against being hurt again.

It’s hard to go back and resolve old conflicts, so much easier to run away and build another life under a different persona. Psychologist Alfred Adler said, "It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them and every character in MR IMPERFECT has to dig deep to win happiness. And there’s always the continuing sexual attraction to make things interesting while they do it...

Mr Imperfect was a book I wrote having no idea what would happen. I knew my first paragraph and I knew my last but the journey in between was full of unexpected twists and turns that took me by surprise and I think results in a much stronger book for the reader. At the point you discover Christian’s real problem, so did I.

All I knew was that I wanted to begin with a strong man crying at a funeral. Funnily enough I just read an article which said male tears are now considered a sign of strength in heart-rending circumstances, and no, this doesn’t yet include the national team losing a sporting fixture.

I also wanted to set the book on the Hauraki Plains, a small New Zealand farming community with BIG skies. I spent a lot of time there as a child holidaying on my grandmother’s farm and the landscape offers a wonderful sense of freedom contrasting with a close-knit community, that could also feel claustrophobic to adventurous teens.

Sometimes you have to grow up to appreciate that what you left behind was what you wanted all along.

I’d love to hear from readers. Visit my website on: www. karinabliss.com or email me on karinabliss@karinabliss.com