Amanda Prowse is one of the UK's most prolific storytellers with global sales of over 8 million copies and legions of loyal readers. Born in the east end of London, she is now based on a farm in the West Country. The author of 30 novels and 7 novellas with books sold in 22 countries and translated into over a dozen languages - no mean feat when you consider her first novel was published in 2012!

A passionate reader since the age of 6 when a visit to the local library changed her life. Armed with her precious library ticket - she spent hours reading Anna Sewell, Judi Blume and Nina Bawden while scribbling short stories of her own. As a teen, she progressed to authors like Mary Wesley, Colleen McCullough and Maeve Binchy whose gritty, emotional novels would inform her writing.

Her mantra is this, "I want to write the kind of stories I love to read - rich slices of family life packed with characters who are relatable and who, like the rest of us, wade through the sticky pond of life, offering hope and wisdom as they do so and praying they can get to the other side without losing a flip flop."

Why have you decided to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency?

"I am truly honoured to become an Ambassador for The Reading Agency. I was a little girl who grew up in a house without any books. The day I walked into a library is one I'll never forget. With a book in my hand, I was able to travel in my mind, curled on the sofa. I could shut out noise, close out chaos and feed my imagination. To help someone discover books, to encourage reading, is I think, one of the greatest acts of human kindness. It does good. It changes lives. It certainly changed mine."