Greg Rutherford

My grandfather died before I was born, so I never had the chance to speak with him about his father. But I learned about him from books.

I was always the slightly fat kid, which used to bother me quite a bit.

I always start the day with a protein shake: protein powder mixed with water, peanut butter, and yoghurt to thicken it up.

Although I write to entertain, and try to keep my work free of didacticism, I do have a rather passionate belief in our need to be connected to - and to learn from - history.

When I got sober, I thought giving up was saying goodbye to all the fun and all the sparkle, and it turned out to be just the opposite. That's when the sparkle started for me.

I've always been very determined, ever since I was a little girl, to make my way.