Ruth Mancini juggles her job as a criminal defence lawyer with writing and raising children. She previously worked in the publishing industry.

Her debut novel Swimming Upstream (Booktrope, £7.99) has been shortlisted for Indie Author Land, in which readers vote for their favourite self-published or independently published book.

It tells the story of Lizzie, whose life takes a series of dramatic twists after she steps into the path of an oncoming car.