I'd been wanting to be a writer for 23 years - writing stories, sending them off, getting rejected year after year after year. But then, in January 2000, I had to have major surgery - and I died (technically!)It was the kick up the pants I needed so I gave up my day job as a teacher and set myself the target of fulfilling my dream and being a published author within one year. Four months after quitting teaching, I had a contract to write my first two books - Magenta Orange and Magenta in the Pink.
Since then I've written eight other books all for teenagers, the latest of which is Toxic Treacle.
I now spend my life writing and visiting schools - how brilliant is that?
My other loves are my family (obviously!) yoga, swimming, cycling, theatre, cinema and reading - although I'm very, very slow. I'm dyslexic, so reading and spelling have always been a problem for me. A teacher once threw a book at me because my spelling was so bad and I don't recall ever finishing a book until I was in my 20s! No wonder I failed O Level English - twice. (That's GCSE in today's money!) But I'm in a book group now, so I have to read a book a month and it's a good discipline for me. After all, the more you practise something, the better you get.
I hope you enjoyed reading my page.
