Name: Luise Finan.

Also Answers To: "Domestic Goddess" (if used sparingly).

Occupation / Title: Cookery Writer, Comedy Writer, Oenologist, Quiz Compiler, Domestic Goddess, Counsellor, Socialite, Astronomer, Seinfeld Authority, Alan Parsons Acolyte, Horticulturalist, Mentalist (work in progress).

Brief Summary: As may be clear from the above list, Luise has a vast mind. She siphons up all human knowledge relatively easily, and archives it for later retrieval as and when necessary. There is nothing she can't make a success of once she decides to apply herself to it. If you stand close enough to her head you can just about hear the fizzing inside as the new ideas and strategies hatch. She's also great fun to hang out with, and is a good people person.

World Records Held:
Best Teacher, Wine and Wine Tasting
Most Dependable Source (for anything concerning contemporary arts and media)
Fizziest Mind
Most Diverse Range Of Talents
Best Pun-meister

Other Notable Achievements & Honours: (1) Co-founder of the Book Group Online. (2) Not that she really needed to, but Luise decided to embark on a course of personal silhouette re-shaping, which of course many people find difficult. The results were, and remain, spectacularly successful.

Best Party Trick: Luise has the most naturally elegant hands in the world, which means she can do impressions of the Mona Lisa without even trying. The image below is cropped from a picture of Luise sitting in a pub when she didn't even know she was being photographed: There are professional hand models who couldn't hold a candle to this.

Special Powers: (1) Possesses the 100% Dependability Gene. If Luise says she'll do something, she'll do it. If she says she'll be somewhere, she'll be there, on time, and ready. This is the rarest of human genetic traits, and one I value greatly. (2) Can write the finest emails in the world, provided you have a taste for ideas, puns, extensive wordplay, acute observations, entertaining digressions, Deep Thoughts with glitter on the side and the occasional feisty argument conducted with razor logic and (sometimes) sly, weasel-like feminine cunning. (3) Exhibits formidable dexterity with words and language. Small example: there is a classic magic text by a guy called Corinda. There's also a well-known skeptical campaigner and magician called James Randi. Luise was the first person in the world to wonder if 'Corinda' was actually a pseudonym for 'Randi & Co.', because it's a near-perfect anagram. As it happens, no, it's not a pseudonym, but that's not the point. The point is that Luise's mind was the first to spot the anagram and to ask if there was a connection. She does this sort of thing all the time, without even trying.

Known Weaknesses: Always has her mobile phone with her. Never has it switched on. Aaargh.

Catchphrase: "I've had an idea..."

Official Information: www.bookgrouponline.com