: About Me

My journey began three years ago with the arrival of a parcel from the Open University. Inside was a bright orange paperback, a collection of important instructions and a handful of CDs. It was the A215 Creative Writing course.

Little did I know what to expect from my first attepts at assignments. Picking my way through the tutor's feedback, it wasn't long before I undersood that the crimson glow on the horizon was coming from the rose tinted sunglasses I'd forgotten I was wearing. I hurled them aside and unrolled a plastic mac: this wasn't going to be so easy after all.

I've always loved writing but only after completing my course was I able to appreciate the craft of it. I can see how far I've come. And more importantly, I have an idea of how far there is yet to go.

And that's why I love Helium. Every day I challenge myself to grow as a writer and consequently as a parent, a business woman, a neighbour and a human being.

This year I've reached a personally important milestone. My first novel has been accepted for publication and is due for release in the summer. By the time it arrives, it will be the sixth book on my shelf in which my published work features. In the meantime, I'm determined to earn a living from the clatter of keys on my laptop.

I'm grateful to my son for his patience. Frequently he finds his mother lost in language while legs of lamb remain frozen and empty milk cartons litter the fridge. I'm grateful that he turned sixteen last year and that I no longer have to worry about him. Now I do so only as a matter of choice, when I've lifted my head from the screen and remembered that real life goes on too.

Very best wishes to you and thanks for visiting.

My passion is ...

discovery

I know too much about ...

how and how not to sell successfully

My parents always told me ...

to act like a lady

My childhood ambition ...

to dance swan lake

My favorite memory ...

writing my first story for Daddy at the age of 6 after stabbing him in the foot with a garden fork

Why I write ...

itchy fingers

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

How to Be Your Own Literary Agent / Teasingly good legal thrillers / Jason Mraz

My first job ...

selling rabbits and hampsters

My best moment ...

scoring 94% in my life-writing exam

My inspiration ...

a love diamond I wear when I want to remember true happiness

Parenting & Pregnancy > Parenting Methods Do you believe in parental instincts?

7 of 15

It's an involuntary reflex. I can be lazy about anything else, find creative ways to avoid housework and bill paying, but show me a child in need and the knee jerks uncontrollably. Whether they apply to everyone is another matter but the function of parental instincts in my life is beyond doubt. He's not exactly a child, this one, at least technically not. But of course he is; passing that milestone birthday doesn't strip a boy of vulnerability, nor rid his friends of compassion. Any mother would have done the same, would have said: "yes, but no noise and just for tonight." Hence another r...

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