About

I was born in the UK, grew up in New Zealand and since returning to England have lived for long periods in London, Cheshire and Oxfordshire. I now live in Devon which is a great place for peace and quiet, sensational scenery and locally produced food and drink (all great passions). It is also,  undoubtedly, A Very Creative Place. To help encourage my creativity I am a member of Exeter Writers.

I have always written short stories (the first one I can remember being “Lost in the Dessert” at school). Fortunately, since then my spelling has improved! In recent years I have had more time to write and although I am working on a novel, fundamentally I really enjoy the short story as a form. I’m especially interested in character-led pieces – life’s rich tapestry and all that. However, the short story is still overlooked by the majority of the reading public and they receive little commercial recognition. It seems odd that in this age of bite-sized everything,  short stories haven’t regained the popularity they once enjoyed amongst the general public.

Stephen King said “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”  I’ve never had a problem with the first but the second is now a daily challenge.

In the early part of my career I spent several years as a copywriter working both in-house and for a leading advertising agency before becoming a marketing and management consultant. Part of the portfolio career which I developed while latterly working for myself included work as a freelance journalist As such I had articles published in a wide range of print and online business and consumer publications. My non-fiction books include: Marketing, Management & Motivation – successful business development for professional services firms, A Coaching Journey – true life stories of coach training, and Primetastic! – 50 tips for life over 50.

I have a PhD in Organizational Behaviour.