About Me & Awards
One of my earliest memories is my great grandmother teaching me to read. She lived in a cottage in the woods and I lived in a caravan close by.
She had been a trail-blazing woman teacher during the 1920s and had bookcases of musty and what seemed to me incredibly ancient school-books, lacking any pictures or colour.
I still remember poring over them. I have no doubt that in that cottage, my love of words and history were born.
After a wonderful career in print journalism, in local then national newspapers, by the time my children were born I felt ready for a change. As they grew up, I had time to return to my first and greatest love - creative writing.
These days, I write both short stories and longer fiction. My historical novel - an unconventional love story in mid-Victorian Surrey - is well underway, and I'm delighted to have won and been placed in a number of awards:
Awards
2022
RNA's Elizabeth Goudge Trophy, runner-up
Exeter Story Prize, longlist
2021
Wells Festival of Literature Short Story Competition, winner
Bournemouth Writing Prize, shortlist
Surrey Wildlife Trust 'Cutting Hedge Creativity' multimedia competition, winner
Stylist Feminist Fiction Prize, longlist
2020
HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition, winner
2019
Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition, shortlist
HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition, longlist
2018
Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition, shortlist