SHE modestly contends that her husband was so much better at inventing bedtime stories for their children. But Penny Vincenzi's imagination has helped sell more than 3.5 million novels around the world, as PAULINE HAWKINS discovered.

A MERE glance at Penny Vincenzi shows she is a woman of style and sophistication, capable of captivating an audience. Passers-by stare as she poses for photographs, a copy of her latest novel in her hands.

Her background in fashion and beauty is apparent, as is her knowledge of what photographers and reporters need -- she is a former journalist who has worked for numerous national newspapers and magazines.

But what you cannot tell from first impressions is that she is grandmother of four and a keen surfer who likes to ride the waves off the Welsh coast, where she has a cottage.

Penny is in East Lancashire to attend a literary dinner and luncheon at the Stirk House Hotel in Gisburn before the launch of her new novel, Something Dangerous, in paperback on Thursday.

But her own life story is every bit as fascinating as the beautifully-drawn characters in her books.

She was encouraged to write by Marje Proops of The Daily Mirror, for whom she worked as a PA, before becoming one of the paper's fashion and beauty writers.

After leaving the Mirror, Penny became the first fashion editor of Nova, the groundbreaking '60s magazine, and went on to become beauty editor of Woman's Own before helping to launch the Boots No17 cosmetics range.

She and her husband Paul launched Looking Good magazine, sold via Boots but backed financially by the couple. To fund the venture they sold their house and took out a huge loan, but -- despite having the bailiffs at their door days before the launch date -- the gamble paid off.

The first issue was a sell-out thanks in part to friends from Penny's Nova days, including photography by Terence Donovan and art directed by David Hillman, who redesigned The Guardian newspaper.

Looking Good was created and run from Penny's front room and its success allowed her to pursue a freelance writing career. Her move into the world of books came after she asked novelist Jilly Cooper for advice while interviewing her.

Jilly put Penny in touch with her own agent, Desmond Elliott, who auctioned a synopsis of her unwritten first novel. It sold for £100,000.

Her compelling style has resulted in nine best sellers, starting with Old Sins in 1989. Other novels with intriguing titles followed, including Wicked Pleasures in 1992, Forbidden Places in 1995 and Almost A Crime in 1999.

Her latest offering is the second in her Spoils of Time trilogy -- the first, No Angel, published in 2000, was an instant best seller.

Something Dangerous, published in hardback in September last year, centres on the powerful and influential Lytton publishing dynasty. Set in the 1920s and 1930s, it tells the story of how the storm clouds of war gathered over Europe.

Described by publishers Orion as "the story of a family embracing their future and yet haunted by their past", it will be followed by the concluding volume, Into Temptation, in September.

Penny, who lives in London, says every day is a discovery to her as she writes her novels.

"I have an idea of what is going to happen but it is quite loose and vague. Another writer has likened it to being on a journey -- you know you are going to Cornwall, but you don't yet know how you're going to get there," she said.

Her journalistic background has stood her in good stead with the painstaking research she has had to carry out in order to make her characters, settings and dialogue believable.

But the hours of effort have paid off as each page paints a picture of an elegant lifestyle -- with its potted palms, drawing rooms and servants -- about to be rent asunder by war.

"I adore the '30s," she said. "I love everything about that era -- the decor, clothes, music. I love the way people lived then."

Despite her success, she has discovered the role of a writer can be a lonely one.

"I still think being a journalist is the best job in the whole world," she said. "It's fun, other journalists are fun -- you don't get any of that when you sit alone, reading and writing.

"I always get my ideas by talking to people, usually sprawling across a table after dinner. They are all ideas that another editor of mine calls 'touch points', something that everyone is intrigued by -- 'what ifs'.

"The whole point about writing fiction is that a lot of it takes place in the subconscious. I have so often gone to bed really vexed and woken up and thought 'ah'. Or I have set out on a long walk fretting about something and it gradually untangles.

"Inspiration is a word that brings me out in hives. Writing is my job. Some days go better than others, but this thing about waiting for inspiration is nonsense."

Penny's books are mostly read by women, but she also receives letters from male readers.

The mother-of-four explains that producing a novel is like giving birth, as it usually takes her about nine months: "I have euphoria afterwards, then terrible post-natal depression. It is not urgent and pressing any more, I can sit back and enjoy it -- and let the nannies take over!"