Hello

I grew up in the Welsh Valleys in a tiny house full of stories, magic, and pets. I adore animals, nature and all things spiritual, and I frequently combine all three in my writing.

I’m a sustainability advisor by profession, so my writing is heavily influenced by my desire to protect the natural world.

I live in Berkshire with my lovely husband, and, until recently, two elderly dogs and a geriatric black cat. Sadly, we lost our last fur baby, Mini Schnauzer, Bear, just a few months ago, so we’re adjusting to being animal-free for the first time in 16 years. 

When I’m not working or writing, I’m usually to be found faffing about in the garden, spying on our visiting hedgehogs or coddling my dozens of house plants.

My writing journey

Ethereal began as a short story for a creative writing evening class in Windsor, way back in 2009. It was called ‘The latecomer’ and was my first introduction to Storm, the ex-witch and medium who had mysteriously lost her magic and her connection to spirit.

I’ve written many short stories over the years, but this one not only stayed with me, it grew, character by character, into what I believed could be a novel. I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, but like a lot of people, I let life and work get between me and my dream.

That all changed when life threw me a bucket full of lemons a few years ago. Traumatised and thoroughly battered by the experiences, I eventually decided that dreams were way too precious to postpone. I had no idea if I could even finish writing a whole novel, but succeed or fail, I knew I had to at least try. I stopped making excuses, sat my bum in my chair and finished the manuscript. The First Ethereal was the result. 

Launched in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, it was without doubt the best decision I’ve ever made (save for marrying my husband, of course!) The sequel, The Cold of Summer, took me nine months to write (a vast improvement on the decade plus it took to finish book one!) and was published in 2022. I’m currently working on my third book.  

If you’re a fellow dog-lover, you might be interested in The Little Bear Dog Blog, which chronicles the ups and downs of living and loving ‘reactive’ dogs.