Born and raised in the Potteries area, I went to school in Stone, Staffordshire.I suppose I always had some hankering to write. I remember sending in a play to Children's Television when I was about eleven. Pretty dreadful stuff but Pamela Brown,(Swish of the Curtain et al) then a producer, wrote back to say not this time but keep writing. I adored her even more after that. I wrote letters to various magazines and even got some published but then it was the grind of getting an education. Drama took up a lot of time and interest. I wanted to be an actress but it was the usual, 'get a training for something useful first'. I went to Leicester Domestic Science College to train as a teacher. Seems rather quaint now, thinking of all the skills we learned and how convenience foods have infiltrated most kitchens.
Life went in threes ... three sons, three grandchildren and now three Jack Russell terriers who appear in several books.
I got the travel bug. Give me the excuse and enough cash for the ticket and I'm off! One of the most memorable was going across South America with a back pack just after my 50th birthday. Think I've visited every Continent at some point. New Zealand has now become one of my favourite places and my friends have to put up with me every few years. I use the excuse that it provides material for another book!
On mmy own for a spell,I became a chef. Now there's a load of material for books. An illuminating experience but oh boy, was it hard work. I was trying to fund a mortgage and working every hour possible. I did outside catering as well as working for a couple of agencies. I did interior decorating, very popular with elderly ladies to have a female painter and decorator. Then there were the hand-made toys and gardening to fill any gaps. I took a writing course somewhere between. Didn't sleep much at this time in my life.
I moved to Cornwall in 1992 and re-married. Between lecturing at Cornwall
College and exploring this beautiful county, I began to write in earnest. I was lucky to get some short stories published and finally had acceptances for novels from Scarlet. Sadly, the imprint did not last. My Weekly and People's Friend Pocket Novels took lots of my stories and these are all available in large print. There are well over thirty of these, published or in the pipeline. Some are also availble on KIndle and hopefully, more to come.
I also used my experiences in education to produce some material for use with older students with limited reading abilities and people who work with them.
Retirement never seemed to produce the extra time I expected
and life is busier than ever. Perhaps it's simply that writing anything takes
time and one tends to get lost in some other place and life and wham, it's
lunchtime, dog walking time or time to go shopping. But life is wonderful and I'm very happy on my cliff top in Cornwall with John and my three Jack Russells, Millie, Alice & Lizzie. We have lots of visitors and my three sons
have turned into three families with three grandchildren.
I signed up for Cryonics in 1993. Yes, when I'm finished with this part of my
life, I shall be frozen with the hopes that in some distant age, technology will be able to revive me and I can have another go at living. Just think of the accuracy of my potential novels set in 20th and 21st centuries!
Cryonics has opened many doors. I've been on Richard and Judy, Open
House, endless news broadcasts, Home Truths, Five Live debates, TV in Paris,
Breakfast Television, New Zealand 1 and lots more. I sometimes wonder if the
most interesting thing about me is what I shall do when I die!
