Following the death of her baby daughter, Jacky Edwards transformed her life. From a single mother with no qualifications, she worked her way up to becoming a fully qualified nurse. Her debut book recounts this journey, and the charachters she met along way. In her interview she tells us a little bit more about her book and some of the highlights from her career.

1. How would you describe The Sky Is Not The Limit, and who would you say it is aimed at?

I would describe my book as an autobiography, but not as you'd know it. The autobiographical components serve as a bedrock of the story, which is ultimately about the amazing, hilarious, tragic but always larger than life characters that I've met during my career as an Intensive Care nurse. I would say it's aimed firstly at anyone who feels that their low starting point will prevent them fulfilling their dreams, but apart from that, It would be enjoyed by anybody at all who just likes a good laugh, a good cry and a rainy afternoon with a book that is impossible to put down.

2. What inspired you to write down your story?

Well I had all these stories just milling about in my head, and as time went on, it was getting a bit crowded in there, so I had no option but to start writing them down to make room for some more.

3. How did you find the writing process? How did you deal with writing about some very personal moments in your life?

I wanted to write a book that inspired the reader, made them feel that there is some good, some justice in the world. That if you want something enough you just keep going and don't stop until the last door slams in your face, and then you just nip round the back and look for a crack in the window. I wanted to tell the truth, I could have made it seedy and unedifying, but I don't think that would have helped many people, sold many copies or entertained anybody. And I really wanted to do all those things. And more than that, I wanted to do justice to the amazing people whose stories I tell. And from the early reviews, I think I may have done just that. *Smile*

4. What advice would you give to anyone who has been through similar difficult situations to yourself?

When your hopes and dreams have faded into the black of a bleak and impossible future, when you wake up in the morning already calculating the hours until you can sink back into bed and it seems impossible to put one foot in front of the other and step into the day, then it is enough of an achievement just to do that. Do it, and keep doing it, don't think about what it feels like, just keep doing it. And one day, sooner than you think, you'll find yourself getting further away from the you that can't get out of bed in the mornings and stepping out of that black cloud into a bright new day where all things just may be possible again.

5. What has been the highlight of your nursing career?

I won Nurse of the Year 2015 and as I sipped champagne at The Shard in London, the Christmas Tree lights were twinkling and I was in a reflective mood as I waited for my name to be called to go up to collect my trophy amidst the sound of a roomful of applause (I hoped!) I cast my mind back over the years, the faces of all the patients I have managed to help and all the ones who slipped beyond my grasp seemed to swim through my mind, the faces of my colleagues, now scattered so far and wide across the globe accompanied by the sound of all the laughter I have heard during the many highpoints of my career. I lifted my glass to all those invisible faces and I whispered a silent toast and I think that was probably the highlight of it all.

6. This is your first published book. Have you written anything before now? If so, what?

Yes and no. I have always been a story teller and a wordy type and I have carpeted many a hallway with the proceeds from short stories when my children were small and cash was scarce. I used to weave jokes into Twist in the Tale stories which put food on the table sporadically and more recently I have been working part time as a ghost writer, undertaking all sorts of projects from bringing parables to life for a Christian group in Ireland, to writing straplines to porn films in the American deep south. I think this has honed my writing skills more than any creative writing course could have done, but I do look forward to writing more of my own stuff now.

7. What are your writing plans for the future?

Interesting times. I am just putting the finishing touches to my second manuscript. Going completely away from the non fiction genre, this next project is a chick lit beach read aimed at bringing to life the legend of The Pleiades. These are also called the Seven Sisters and they each have an interesting story to tell. I'm starting with the youngest, Merope, who falls to earth and ends up head over heels with a mortal. Add a few colourful characters and a dash of magic and I think I'm on to a winner (fingers crossed).

Then I'm back into non-fiction with an exciting project which I've been working on since September 2015. Called The Surrogate's Diary it follows an incredible journey undertaken by myself and the amazing young woman who carried my baby for me, written up from a series of secret diaries kept by us throughout the pregnancy and birth of my little boy in May 2016, and beyond.

8. Which three books would you pick to take to a desert island?

Presuming that I can't just cheat and take my Kindle, then this is a very difficult decision indeed. Firstly I suppose it would be prudent to take an idiots guide to survival on a dessert island. Then I would probably take something far too hefty and highbrow for me to entertain before being stranded, so I'd take War and Peace. It's the only way I'll ever get to finish that weighty tome. Thirdly, I'd have all the Narnia books rebound into one huge volume so I'd have something so enjoyable which I would actually be happy to read and re-read for the rest of my life anyway.