Backstory

I think I have always been a writer – or at least a storyteller! When I was little my dolls would go on adventures in made up worlds where often the Princess would rescue the Knight! When I was about eleven a friend of the family offered ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to us to read. That was when my true love for all things fantasy began. I loved the idea of magic, and it was all about escapism for me. I always made-up elaborate games for myself and my friends to play, or my toys, and it wasn’t much of a stretch to begin writing them. I wrote mostly for fun although I did try to get a novel published when I was about 22, but I had no clue what I was doing so of course it was rejected!

Then in 2017 I found Writing Magazine in a shop, read it, and was fired up to get serious about writing. I joined a short story course, and I wrote another novel and sent it to an agent and a small press. The small press gave me some valuable feedback. However, by then I had started writing The Shard and joined a novel writing course. With the help of that course I created a book I was proud of. After a lot of research into publishing I chose to self-publish and published The Shard in 2020 on Amazon. That feeling of holding a print edition of a book you have written is magical, it was at this point that I began to see myself as both a writer and an author and I hoped to make it my career.

In late 2021 I decided to take my books to all the other retailers too. As of November 2025 I have 11 novels published as well as a novella, a further book on pre-order and a 13th just finished as a first draft. I have two continents on the same world that all my stories are set within. There is Thalian – The Darkling Duology and The Light Wielders as well as my new cosy fantasy series The Beekeeper’s Chronicles, and Escarnia – The Crystal Mages and the Fallen Mages and soon to be a new YA series set in Virin Asra. This is going to have more romance in it than previous books and might even end up being Romantasy!

​

I am also contemplating a third continent for future novels – it already exists, where did the Emperor arrive from when he invaded the northern kingdoms of Thalian? I just haven’t fleshed it out. Yet.

​

The Writing

I try to write a minimum number of words a day and I usually do that in the morning. This word count has slowly increased since I began – we improve with practise after all. I also now do more planning and outlining with a structure to hang the plot from. I usually start with a little bit of character and setting first and then plot. And gradually I add to each until I have a bare-bones outline. Then I fill in the important plot-points – Where it will begin, Inciting Incident, The Middle etc.

​

Although my books are set in fantasy, made-up worlds, I still want them to be believable. So I research the climate, the types of plants and animals that might live in that type of landscape. I will also research the culture and it all influences my writing. I don’t think I could write more than a short story based in the ‘real’ world, somehow I just don’t feel like I know the rules of social interactions, or how places work well enough. But if the world is mine it doesn’t matter, I make the rules!

​

I also have to have some kind of plan for a publication schedule. I have always wanted to be able to put links to book 2 in the back of book 1 when it goes live. Which means you need book 2 up for pre-order before book 1 is released. So you need to know roughly the timeline. Or you hold back the first book until the second is ready. It now takes me about 4 to 5 weeks to write a novel then anything between two weeks and a month for editing (allowing a week for it to sit in a draw while I work on something else) – this time depends on whether the kids are on holiday or not! Then I send it for a professional edit, to ensure I am putting out the best quality I can, and that can take 5 to 6 weeks to come back. Then a week or so on making any changes. During the professional edit I also commission a cover.

​

I take a bit of notice of what people are reading/buying on the retailers, and I try to use a few recognisable tropes in my work, but I will never chase trends or try to fit my work into a particular ‘box’. I write what I want to write, because for me, what is the point if I don’t love what I write, what I do?

The things you will always find in my stories are magic and adventure, plus often an element of mystery. There is friendship and co-operation – the main character would never succeed without her friends and allies. The female main character may turn out to a Chosen One due to birth or circumstance, but she doesn’t feel special at all. And she doesn’t want to be the heroine. She is doing what needs to be done because it is right and who else is there? But you are guaranteed a satisfactory/happy ending. I think there is an element of ‘noblebright’ to my books, certainly they will never be grimdark.

 

There is also an item/object that appears in some form in all of my books – have you spotted it? Feel free to email me when you do!