About Me
I was born in East Grinstead, UK, one of three kids. I now live in Bristol, and work for the Environment Agency. I love working in the environmental sector, but writing, baking and reading is a huge passion of mine. I'm married to a Costa Rican, we have a gorgeous pup called Chumi, I love to travel and to volunteer for environmental causes, and I'm a self-professed stationery geek! Oh, and I love elephants. I can't stop looking and laughing at this tweet I found today! When and why did you begin writing? I’ve been writing since I was a child (diaries, letters, short stories etc.), and have blogged for w whole, but I began writing my first book ‘Girl Meets Boys’ in 2009 after a friend convinced me I should document my trawling of the online dating world. It took me almost 3 years to finish it; I spent a lot of time investigating the publishing world and finding myself the most appropriate course of action to get published. And here we are today! **NO LONGER IN PRINT** Who designed the covers of your books? I designed the cover of 'Girl Meets Boys' on paper and I hired Ciaran Robinson (also known as Llouette) to make it a high-res electronic file and print-ready. He captured my ideas and made them come alove in print. for 'Easy Vegan Baking', I used a designer from Fiverr to bring my idea to life. |
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Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I normally write articles for lifestyle magazines, so I quickly learned there is a huge difference in writing fiction to writing copy for magazines. Sure, my book is a little bit like a non-fiction piece, based on genuine real life experiences, but it’s written in a narrative sense to structure it as a novel.
Another thing I learned is that a writer needs a lot of stamina to get something you’re writing to novel length! Mine is only about 36,000 words, a short novel, but traditional novel lengths are about 80-120,000 words long. Something to aim for with my second novel!
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing novels?
Sometimes I find it hard to get inspired, or doubt myself, thinking ‘is that really such an interesting plot line/character/subject?’, but once I sit down and start scrawling, something comes out onto the paper or screen, and it just expands from there. I do find writing articles comes a lot easier to me - they're my favourite pieces to writer probably because of that. I enjoy writing short stories to deadlines (normally competition closing dates) to keep me on my toes. They obviously need fewer words than a novel too, so they are better for my sanity!
I think writing is a like exercising. You have to warm up beforehand (with a cup of tea on hand, of course!), work hard and build up a flow, then cool down and recognise when it’s time to stop. Hopefully by then you will have created more ideas through the depth of the story and have written a several well-structured paragraphs. Be pleased with your progress, and set yourself a challenge for your next writing time slot. Exercise that creative muscle of yours!
What are your current projects?
Having left MK Pulse Magazine in November 2014, I really took to my blog and networking with other writers. I feel like blogging is 'my' media, and I can't get enough of it, even signing up to inspiring but tough challenges like the A-Z Challenge (2013) (and again on my travel blog in 2015).
Fiction-wise, I am working on a story (still!) about a pair of twins. In their early 20’s, they have recently been made orphans. One twin takes the opportunity to travel to start afresh and escape from it all, while the other finds solace in staying home and looking after the family book shop the girls have inherited. Their lives diverge and cross-over while they are apart, and I have an explosive ending up my sleeve, for when the book is hopefully around the publishing and reader-friendly 80-120,000 word mark! I’m very proud of the plot I have created; I just need to make it into a fully-fledged story with all the in’s and out’s required to make it an engaging page-turner for the reader – minus the typical twin relationship clichés, of course!
What book are you reading now? Which are your all-time favourite authors / books?
I have just finished 'Rebecca's Tale', a book by Sally Beauman, a kind of sequel to the brilliant book 'Rebecca' by Daphne Du Maurier. I loved the latter; this one isn't quite as good, but I became attached to the characters quite quickly and generally enjoyed it. More of what I've read recently can be found on my Good Reads page.
I've always been a keen reader. When I was a kid I loved the Babysitter's Club series and Sweet Valley High, but quickly grew into adult books through books like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sue Townsend, Jodie Picoult and Bill Bryson. My mum's always been good at recommending a good read - thanks mum!
Nowadays, I really enjoy contemporary fiction. I’ve realised recently that a lot of the books I have been reading lately are on a sci-fi bent (e.g. 'Time Traveller’s Wife'). That surprises me, but I guess I can handle sci-fi novels if they’re not set in space – that’s the secret for me anyway! I also recently enjoyed 'The Island', 'One Day', 'The Help', 'Room', and 'The Book Thief'.
Three “Good to Know” facts about you, something you could not read just about anywhere.
1. I want to learn how to change a tyre. I know how to do the very basics on my car (oil top up, washer fluid, air etc), but I feel quite vulnerable and silly not knowing much more!
2. I am allergic to plasters, red onion, some face products, pollen and Dazz washing powder.
3. I feel an immense sense of private pride and achivement when I pull something delicious out of the oven. In particular, I enjoy baking cakes for friends and family. I iced a cake with royal icing successfully for the first time this week for World Book Night.
Plane or Train?
I would have said plane previously, but since taking the Eurostar to Brussels, I have completely changed my outlook. Not only are they more environmentally friendly than flying, you can travel a long way in no time at all, with no check-in! I would love to take the train more often, but car journeys and flights are so much cheaper generally, it does prove a hard decision.
Cats or dogs?
I am totally a dog person. Cats don’t need you, they’re creepy and cunning. Whereas dogs are loving, interesting, a social animal, and they miss you when you go out!
Coffee or tea?
I’ve always been a tea drinker (builders tea, white, no sugar), but have started to experiment with coffee. My links with Costa Rica have made me a more discernible coffee drinker, that's for sure!
List 3 of your all-time favourite movies?
Wow, that’s a hard question. Movies, I’ll have to go with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy (I’ve watched it a hundred times and it’s still fantastic), ‘X:Men Origins: Wolverine’ (for the double dose of eye candy), and I love a no-brainer comedy like 'The Hangover’.
Which is your all-time favourite song (only one song please)?
That’s a lot easier. Favourite song of all time is Amy Winehouse’s cover of ‘Valerie’. Incredible voice, a talent greatly missed, and there’s such energy in that track. I might just go and put it on now!
What is a movie or TV show that you watched recently and really enjoyed?
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I enjoy 'Game of Thrones' (late starter!) and have recently got into Jane The Virgin and Orange Is The New Black. All time favourite - maybe Dexter or Six Feet Under?
**March 2019**
I normally write articles for lifestyle magazines, so I quickly learned there is a huge difference in writing fiction to writing copy for magazines. Sure, my book is a little bit like a non-fiction piece, based on genuine real life experiences, but it’s written in a narrative sense to structure it as a novel.
Another thing I learned is that a writer needs a lot of stamina to get something you’re writing to novel length! Mine is only about 36,000 words, a short novel, but traditional novel lengths are about 80-120,000 words long. Something to aim for with my second novel!
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing novels?
Sometimes I find it hard to get inspired, or doubt myself, thinking ‘is that really such an interesting plot line/character/subject?’, but once I sit down and start scrawling, something comes out onto the paper or screen, and it just expands from there. I do find writing articles comes a lot easier to me - they're my favourite pieces to writer probably because of that. I enjoy writing short stories to deadlines (normally competition closing dates) to keep me on my toes. They obviously need fewer words than a novel too, so they are better for my sanity!
I think writing is a like exercising. You have to warm up beforehand (with a cup of tea on hand, of course!), work hard and build up a flow, then cool down and recognise when it’s time to stop. Hopefully by then you will have created more ideas through the depth of the story and have written a several well-structured paragraphs. Be pleased with your progress, and set yourself a challenge for your next writing time slot. Exercise that creative muscle of yours!
What are your current projects?
Having left MK Pulse Magazine in November 2014, I really took to my blog and networking with other writers. I feel like blogging is 'my' media, and I can't get enough of it, even signing up to inspiring but tough challenges like the A-Z Challenge (2013) (and again on my travel blog in 2015).
Fiction-wise, I am working on a story (still!) about a pair of twins. In their early 20’s, they have recently been made orphans. One twin takes the opportunity to travel to start afresh and escape from it all, while the other finds solace in staying home and looking after the family book shop the girls have inherited. Their lives diverge and cross-over while they are apart, and I have an explosive ending up my sleeve, for when the book is hopefully around the publishing and reader-friendly 80-120,000 word mark! I’m very proud of the plot I have created; I just need to make it into a fully-fledged story with all the in’s and out’s required to make it an engaging page-turner for the reader – minus the typical twin relationship clichés, of course!
What book are you reading now? Which are your all-time favourite authors / books?
I have just finished 'Rebecca's Tale', a book by Sally Beauman, a kind of sequel to the brilliant book 'Rebecca' by Daphne Du Maurier. I loved the latter; this one isn't quite as good, but I became attached to the characters quite quickly and generally enjoyed it. More of what I've read recently can be found on my Good Reads page.
I've always been a keen reader. When I was a kid I loved the Babysitter's Club series and Sweet Valley High, but quickly grew into adult books through books like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sue Townsend, Jodie Picoult and Bill Bryson. My mum's always been good at recommending a good read - thanks mum!
Nowadays, I really enjoy contemporary fiction. I’ve realised recently that a lot of the books I have been reading lately are on a sci-fi bent (e.g. 'Time Traveller’s Wife'). That surprises me, but I guess I can handle sci-fi novels if they’re not set in space – that’s the secret for me anyway! I also recently enjoyed 'The Island', 'One Day', 'The Help', 'Room', and 'The Book Thief'.
Three “Good to Know” facts about you, something you could not read just about anywhere.
1. I want to learn how to change a tyre. I know how to do the very basics on my car (oil top up, washer fluid, air etc), but I feel quite vulnerable and silly not knowing much more!
2. I am allergic to plasters, red onion, some face products, pollen and Dazz washing powder.
3. I feel an immense sense of private pride and achivement when I pull something delicious out of the oven. In particular, I enjoy baking cakes for friends and family. I iced a cake with royal icing successfully for the first time this week for World Book Night.
Plane or Train?
I would have said plane previously, but since taking the Eurostar to Brussels, I have completely changed my outlook. Not only are they more environmentally friendly than flying, you can travel a long way in no time at all, with no check-in! I would love to take the train more often, but car journeys and flights are so much cheaper generally, it does prove a hard decision.
Cats or dogs?
I am totally a dog person. Cats don’t need you, they’re creepy and cunning. Whereas dogs are loving, interesting, a social animal, and they miss you when you go out!
Coffee or tea?
I’ve always been a tea drinker (builders tea, white, no sugar), but have started to experiment with coffee. My links with Costa Rica have made me a more discernible coffee drinker, that's for sure!
List 3 of your all-time favourite movies?
Wow, that’s a hard question. Movies, I’ll have to go with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy (I’ve watched it a hundred times and it’s still fantastic), ‘X:Men Origins: Wolverine’ (for the double dose of eye candy), and I love a no-brainer comedy like 'The Hangover’.
Which is your all-time favourite song (only one song please)?
That’s a lot easier. Favourite song of all time is Amy Winehouse’s cover of ‘Valerie’. Incredible voice, a talent greatly missed, and there’s such energy in that track. I might just go and put it on now!
What is a movie or TV show that you watched recently and really enjoyed?
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I enjoy 'Game of Thrones' (late starter!) and have recently got into Jane The Virgin and Orange Is The New Black. All time favourite - maybe Dexter or Six Feet Under?
**March 2019**
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Thanks for reading - drop me a line any time with your comments. My Facebook page is totally dedicated to writing, so if you write, you might find them useful.
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