Back in Summer 2013, an intense fortnight took me from aspiring author to author with agent and book deal. I’d been dreaming of being published since I was eight, and actually working at it for a decade. My blog tells the story, but if you don’t have the time or inclination to read it, the summary is simply this. Write. Write more. Cross it out and write again. Weep and rage, then get back to the writing. If you need a sounding board or just a virtual hand to hold – or indeed if you’ve been there and have advice or comments – please use Twitter or the comments section here to get in touch. The Ship was published on 19th February 2015, and I wrote a monthly blog about the process of taking it from manuscript to published novel. You can read a brief synopsis here.

I also blog about my reading, and about anything in the news that catches my eye.

I’ve got four small children, and although I tend to keep them out of my writing life, they’ll inevitably creep in somewhere – usually in the form of tips about writing in spite of them. This is to be interpreted as an indication of my commitment to writing, and not as an indication of my lack of commitment to them. For they are wonderful.

Whatever brought you here, thank you for coming. Stay awhile.