'I swapped nursing for erotic fiction - but I won't let mum read my books'

Bestselling author Sophie Gravia is no stranger to racy, blush-inducing fiction.

She has made it her job to expose the hilarious complexities of modern dating in her series of hit books.

Titles including A Glasgow Kiss, Hot Girl Summer and her latest release, The Dicktionary Club, have propelled her to cult status amongst her fans.

But despite being open-minded enough to front a new BBC Sounds podcast about relationships, the NHS nurse admitted she draws the line at letting her family into her written world.

Sophie said: "I don't allow my mum and dad to read the books."

"They are so proud and they tell everyone about the books, but I am like: 'please, do not read them'."

She added: "The dating scene has changed so much since my parents' time.

"They met when they were 15 at the dancing.

"To think now people would be with someone they met when they were 15 just sounds crazy.

"With today's dating apps people just jump straight in, and its sometimes even weird to meet someone for a coffee because they want to go straight to the bedroom."

It is this insight that led her to co-present new BBC Sounds podcast Situationships with Sophie and Christine.

Alongside TV personality Christine McGuinness, she brings to the podcast her life experience as a single mum, NHS nurse - and best-selling writer of erotic fiction.

Growing up in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Sophie had a love for writing.

"At school I used to write funny poems when I should have been concentrating in class, and would send them to my friends," she recalled.

As a teenager she considered a career in journalism, but later lost interest in her school studies.

Sophie admitted: "I have got a really short attention span.

"I was too busy hanging around with my sister and cousins who were all older and had left school."

She quit school at 16 but, encouraged by her mum, entered further education and worked towards a diploma in performing arts.

"It was just fun, though I did learn how to write a script," she said.

"I was 16-17 and I never thought I would use those skills again."

Within a few years Sophie was a teenage single mum.

She had the first of her two daughters at 19, and the second when she was 20.

To help support her young family, Sophie decided to follow in her mum and dad's footsteps and went into nursing.

"I went to university when my youngest was three weeks old," said Sophie.

She has since clocked up 10 years with NHS Lanarkshire as a renal nurse working with kidney disease patients.

Sophie is currently on a break from nursing to focus on the podcast and promoting a new book, but plans to return to the profession.

It was while working as a nurse during the Covid pandemic that her life took an unexpected turn.

Along with many other health professionals, she was required to attend mandatory wellness sessions.

They were intended to offer a release from working under the pressures of the global health crisis.

Staff were encouraged to explore new interests or rekindle a passion for old ones.

"Everyone else had all these great things they were doing in their spare time, while I was using it to lie on the couch watching Netflix most nights," said Sophie.

"Then I said to myself 'look, let's get a grip here', and I started writing.

"I never thought I was good enough at it, but wanted to do something for myself."

In a single night she mapped out the basic story of what later became her debut novel.

Sophie said: "I just took the worst dating stories I had heard from my friends and the girls in the staffroom. There are couple of my own in there too.

"I fictionalised the story to make sense of it all.

"I thought I would send it to my friends as Christmas presents."

But Sophie took the plunge and self-published A Glasgow Kiss online, with no expectations of what would happen next.

"Literally overnight it was number one on the Amazon charts. It just completely blew up," she said.

Book deals followed, and this week she released her fifth novel - The Dicktionary Club.

It is based on a real-life phenomenon where women meet in groups on social media to discuss whether they are dating the same man.

As a result of her literary success Sophie was approached by BBC producers working on new podcasts and commissioned to explore "situationships".

Sophie explained: "In dating, it's usually the phase where people are chatting before making a commitment.

"You are not quite dating, not going out with them, but there is something happening, usually in the DMs (direct messages) on apps.

"I feel in the dating game now there can be so many different situationships - sometimes with multiple people - which can be a big problem.

"It can be the cause of a lot of dilemmas, and there are inappropriate situationships like: 'I fancy my boss. What should I do?'"

During the development of the podcast, Sophie encouraged her friend Christine McGuinness to audition as co-host.

The women first met through their shared talent management agency and bonded over their experiences of motherhood, writing and relationships.

Christine's 11-year marriage to TV presenter Paddy McGuinness ended in a high-profile break-up in 2022.

Sophie said: "She is absolutely crazy fun. We get on so well."

Each week, the podcast will see women discuss listeners' dating dilemmas, relationship revelations and "situationship" struggles.

Sophie said: "Christine is new to the dating scene, whereas I've been on the dating scene for such a long time.

"I feel like the two of us really get it and have so much in common, but sometimes we have a different opinion on things.

"I'm probably quite harsh when it comes to 'what do you think of this relationship?'

"I'm like 'naw, get rid', while Christine is 'oh, but wait a minute'. It's a nice dynamic."

Sophie added: "It's just like a normal girls' chat, and it's nice to do it with my friend."

Situationships with Sophie and Christine will be fully visualised and available on BBC Sounds, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer from Thursday 19 June. Anyone who wishes to get in touch with their worries or stories should be over 18.