"It took me two years to complete The Twelve Little Cakes, writing and rewriting it, hoping and despairing until one day, I was about to catch the train from Cernosice to Prague when my ancient cell phone rang and a crisp American voice introduced herself as Theresa Park, the literary agent.

"My knees gave up and I almost collapsed under the train as it rattled into the station. There was a terrible screeching of brakes and I started to run away from the noise, jumping over the potholes and stirring the dust. This was one of the happiest moments in my life. I almost got run over by a car and squashed by a bus, but I continued running away from the trains, clinging to Theresa’s voice on the phone like a drowning person clings to a rope."