Former nurse's bestselling bedside manner!

She might be a bestselling author but Sophie Gravia still can't believe her luck. This time five years ago the 33-year-old was a frazzled NHS renal nurse, juggling tough but rewarding 13-hour shifts with solo parenting her two young daughters and struggling to pay the bills. She started writing a funny, raunchy novel as a self-care project and a way of coping with the horrors of Covid, drawing on her own experience of dating in her home city, Glasgow.

When she self-published A Glasgow Kiss in December 2020 she was just happy to see it finished, and thought she might make a few hundred quid to cover the cost of Christmas.

But the tale - a hilarious, no-holds barred tale of disastrous hook-ups and female solidarity - was an instant smash, leading to a four-book deal and a completely new life for Sophie and her girls. Since then she has gone on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies of her cheeky novels.

A new title - The Dicktionary Club - is released this week and the BBC have snapped up her debut to make into a drama.

Sophie says of her overnight success: "If you'd told me in 2020 that I was going to get a new house, a publisher and a podcast because of my writing I definitely wouldn't have believed it."

This month marked the start of another new chapter as she said goodbye to her nursing job and announced the launch of her "ultimate girly chat" podcast - Situationships - alongside former model and TV personality Christine McGuinness.

"It's been a lot," she says. "I still can't believe what's happened - it's a little bit overwhelming to be honest. I finished work on Tuesday and that felt really weird. I keep thinking, 'I'll probably go back.'

"So much has happened since I sat down to write, so much has changed. I was in the airport the other day and saw my new book on the shelves, I was stood there thinking, 'How did I do this?'"

As Sophie says, her life hasn't always been easy. As a teenage single parent she was determined to prove people wrong and provide for her family. She trained as a nurse but even then it was tough.

"I had a good, professional job, but it was hard being on my own and paying the bills," she explains. "Covid was really awful. I was working 13-hour days and the girls were in the hub (for health workers' children) so the mum-guilt was off the scale. I was thinking, 'This can't be it?' I was imagining what I really wanted in life but didn't know how to get there."

When NHS bosses arranged a well-being event to help staff cope with Covid-working, Sophie was encouraged to take up writing, something she'd loved as a youngster.

"They went round and asked what people were doing in their spare time," she says. "Everyone was learning a language or doing something worthwhile - when they came to me I said I was watching Netflix. They told me to come back next week with some writing."

Sophie took their advice - using an anonymous dating blog she'd started as the base of her first novel, A Glasgow Kiss. She didn't tell anyone what she was doing until it was finished. "When it was done, I searched on the internet for advice on what to do next - it seemed there was no way a first-time author would get published so I watched some YouTube videos about self-publishing," she says.

"It was December 13 so I thought I might get a couple of hundred quid for Christmas. I shared it on Facebook - and told my mum not to read it because of the filth - then felt nervous so turned my phone off. When I turned my phone on the next morning I was number one in the Amazon charts.

"I actually felt a bit worried going into work - it's a professional place and I didn't know what my bosses would think. But half the girls had read it and everyone was really supportive."

Sophie was spotted by a publisher, Orion, and signed up, writing another four popular books.

As sales exploded, she has found a community of loyal fans - including actress Michelle Keegan - and her fifth title, The Dicktionary Club has just been released. "I'm never short of ideas," she says. "Once I get started I don't find writing hard at all. I don't read lots of books, but I did love the Sarah J Mass ACOTAR [A Court of Thorns and Roses] series.

"I listen to podcasts more and I watch a lot of telly and I love chatting to my pals.

"My friends keep saying they want a cut of my royalties because people tell me things all the time that sometimes make it in. Now readers get in touch with their experiences too - I think we girls love to share. I always wanted to write something that showed you can get what you want in life, no matter where you started. I faced a lot of prejudice as a single mum and being a teenage mum."

In a rags-to-riches tale reminiscent of fellow author J K Rowling, who penned the first three Harry Potter books while living on benefits as a single mum before beginning teacher training, Sophie says her success proves everyone has the power to change their life for the better. She says: "It felt like it was accepted that I wasn't going to do well. But the children are why I get up and write everyday.

"If I hadn't had children so young, I don't think I would have been so driven. My advice for anyone wanting to change their life is to set small, achievable goals. Make a plan, find something you are passionate about or think you could love.

"So rather than just romance, my books are more about empowering women and the power of female friendship. I don't write your classic romcoms, it's more, 'She might get the guy but then is she happy?' I felt a bit like that myself.

"I'd be in the staff tea room and people would ask, 'Have you got a man yet?' and I'd be thinking, 'I'm not wanting one'. I had other priorities. Getting a man's not the only end."

Ironically, after mining her dating life for great stories, Sophie has a lovely new partner - and they didn't meet online. She's been in a happy relationship with an old friend since earlier this year after years of texting and talking.

"He's from the same area - we'd known each other for years and we were always messaging," she says.

In her new BBC Sounds podcast, Situationships with Sophie and Christine, she'll be providing fun chat and advice on all types of relationships - romantic, friendships, workplace and family.

So what are her top tips for doing online dating well? "Set your boundaries and stick to them," she says firmly. "You'll meet so many people who will try to push them and it's easy to give in when you're wanting to meet someone. Be yourself. I've met people and realised the photo they provided wasn't even of them which is sad because I probably would have still been interested if they'd used their own photo. So forget the filters and just be yourself.

"And have fun. Chances are you won't meet the one straight away and that's fine, just try and enjoy the journey."

Situationships with Sophie and Christine available now on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer The Dicktionary Club by Sophie (Zaffre, £9.99) is out now