A SCION of Ponteland already living la belle vie in gay Paris is now popping the Champagne following the publication of her first novel.

Cocktails at Le Carmen is unashamedly chick lit, says Katie Nichol, but unlike the oft raunchy flavour produced in recent years, it harks back to the innocent, early days of the genre when heroines were flawed, funny and forever searching for love.

‘Pure fun from page one’ says the publisher, which could also be a description – albeit a glib one – of Katie’s own life.

Ponteland High School, Durham University and a degree in modern languages proved to be the stepping stones to a job as a writer and copy editor for a media company that specialises in the international cosmetics industry.

She’s been in Paris for six years now and she can’t see herself leaving any time soon. The job is a joy and, as for the rest, well ...

“One of the things I like best about living in Paris is how pretty it is,” she said. “Whenever I see the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre Pyramid or the Arc de Triomphe, it still makes me stop and think ‘wow’, even after six years.

“There’s always something to do, whether it’s going to a museum, out for dinner or drinks, or just walking around and discovering hidden gems off the tourist trail. I feel incredibly lucky to call Paris home.”

While her grandmother still lives in Ponteland, her mother, Julie Oswald, now lives in Hallington and her father in North Yorkshire. Katie herself is very settled in Paris’s 13th arrondissement.

She said: “Aside from being famous for its Asian Quarter, the 13th is home to plenty of bars, shops and restaurants, and has an art deco swimming pool and allegedly the best tap water in Paris.

“It’s a more real sort of Paris. A tourist wouldn’t necessarily go there, but on the upside, it means you don’t have to walk for ages to find a supermarket or a reasonably- priced bar.

“However my flat is small, probably smaller than your bedroom. It’s 18m², but that’s Paris for you!”

She shares her bijou space with a tabby cat called Oscar, who occasionally blogs about their apartment living at parisiankitty.wordpress.com. His owner has similarly taken that old adage, write about what you know, to heart.

Written under the pen-name of Isabelle Andover and published by the Los Angeles-based firm Simon and Fig, it tells the story of Chloe Saddler, who, like many expatriates before her, discovers that Paris can be a delight one day and the ultimate in frustration the next.

As Katie says: “Its breathtaking architecture and gastronomic delights may well leave you speechless, but so too will its legendary bureaucracy – it would test the patience of a saint!”

Besides starting life afresh in a new city, her heroine also has to factor in her bridezilla of a sister’s wedding, an unexpected session of naked yoga and one incredible kiss at an infamous Montmartre nightspot.

Chloe does, indeed, bid au revoir to her old, safe London life and bonjour to the romance, splendour and glamour of Paris.

“I adore chick lit, despite the bad press it sometime gets,” said Katie. “Although my book is a work of fiction, the main character is of a similar age to me and it does contain events inspired by real life.

“I’d read somewhere that Cecelia Ahern wrote one of her books in a fortnight, so I had visions of myself effortlessly tapping out 7,000 fabulously witty words a day, while snacking on sunflower seeds rather than chocolate biscuits.”

The reality was somewhat different, though, and that fortnight turned into 18 months of graft.

But today, Katie Nichol is as proud as punch that Cocktails at Le Carmen is now available on Amazon Books.