Who am I?
I love books! I love reading thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy and military history. And I love reading children’s book, to my daughter when she was the right age, but increasingly for my own pleasure. I spent most of my career as an economist in the city. Then a few years ago, I thought of a story and it wouldn’t let go. So I plotted and researched and tinkered. By then the idea of writing a novel had sunk it claws in and there was no letting go.
Finally I started to write. I attended the Faber Academy Course in 2014. Then I re-wrote that awful first draft. And re-edited. My debut novel, Blue Gold, came out in May 2017 thanks to the wonderful Matthew Smith at Urbane Publications. Its two sequels, Rose Gold and White Gold, came out in 2018-19, forming the Gaia trilogy. The trilogy was re-released in late 2021 through Bloodhound Books.
I joined The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in 2018 when my interests turned towards a younger audience and I won the July 2020 Slush-pile challenge. See details here. I have been working on numerous stories in the past three years. Pax & The Missing Head, published through Tiny Tree, will be released in October 2023. This is the start of a new trilogy.
I appear on Bill Buckley’s monthly Radio Reads show for Radio Berkshire, discussing and recommending books every month along with fellow local author Claire Dyer. This normally occurs at 1pm on the first Saturday of every month.
I am available for talks on writing, my publication journey and on water shortages in the context of climate change. I have run workshops on specific aspects of writing to writers’ groups, I have given talks in schools and to U3A groups. A list of fees and testimonials is available on request. Do reach out if you would like to discuss any specific requirements.