I always dreamed of being a writer and was an obsessive reader as a child, so much so that my mum had to make me go and play outside. Sometimes that involved doing handstands, skipping or playing two balls, but a lot of the time, my friends, my sister and I ‘play-acted’. One of our favourites was taken from the TV series, ‘Lost in Space’, where each of us would adopt one of the characters and create dramas. My parents were both involved in amateur dramatics (mum – actress, dad – set designer) and were also big readers. Fun and creativity were nurtured in our household.
My stories at school tended to be slightly off-piste, with an odd twist. I remember writing one where the heroine was taken down into the depths of the earth and put into a test-tube where she was then turned into a devil. My teacher was shocked, but impressed. I wish I still had a copy.
My teachers said I should write for a living and I left school to do a year at college concentrating on shorthand, typing and English A level, so I could become a newspaper reporter. However, things don’t always go to plan, and I ended up as a secretary in London.
I did work in publishing for a few years during the early 1980s – one job was as Editorial Assistant for two weekly medical newspapers in Guildford and the other was as Editorial Assistant/Picture Researcher and then Production Assistant for an educational publishing company in London. A lot of fun was had.
Again, life doesn’t always go to plan and amazingly (because I never considered it in my life plan) I have spent over 26 years working for a company in the construction industry. I am now their Sustainability Manager and have had a few articles and blogs published in the trade media. I am also the unofficial proofreader for the company and write procedures for a number of disciplines. One of my enjoyments is compiling, editing, and publishing the company’s internal newsletter. So, words continue to be part of my working life.
I have never stopped writing fiction for pleasure, and I am now semi-retired which allows me more time to concentrate on the novels I have underway (if I could stop procrastinating).
I have had a few successes in flash fiction competitions, two of which resulted in my pieces being published – one in Writers’ Forum magazine and one in a Writers’ Bureau anthology of flash fiction (available on Amazon).
Joining a local writing group (or two) has been essential to me improving my writing skills and, to add a professional note, I successfully undertook a proofreading and copy editing course with the Writers’ Bureau in 2017, which means I can assist my fellow writers as well as edit my own work.
If anyone would like to avail themselves of my proofreading or copy editing services, please message me via the contact page. As well as fiction, I am happy to work on business procedures, technical documents, and student dissertations.
Finally, I got married in August 2020 – a truly weird but beautiful Covid-19 wedding.