I came late to writing. No, that's wrong. I came late to publishing my writing. And what a thrilling ride it's proving to be.
I'm never happier than when bashing both brain and keyboard in my Plotting Shed wherever that may be! On gloriously creative days, I can look up and find hours have passed. I'm amazed the scenery is unchanged, fixed, when I've been absorbed in heart-stopping drama or tragedy, or romance.
At last, I am following my bliss. I'm a bit late to the party, but I'm dancing.
There was an old black and gold typewriter knocking about my childhood home. When I wasn't skinning my knees climbing trees or wandering aimlessly in the countryside with my dog and my dreams, I could be found, as now, typing away with imaginary friends whispering in my ear.
My first novel, The Twisted Vine, is based on a happy time picking grapes in France in the 1980s. I met some amazing people there but none as outrageous as those that sprang to life on my screen. Daffodils is based in Wiltshire, where I grew up. It attempts to portray how ordinary lives, and the rigid social order, were radically altered by the catalyst of the First World War. This book developed into The Katherine Wheel Series, with a sequel set in 1919 in the aftermath of WW1, Peace Lily, and Speedwell, taking the characters into the roaring twenties and the dangerous world of motor-racing. Willow (a novella) introduces the next generation who face daunting challenges in WW2 in Woodbine and Ivy, the final book in this epic saga which draws all the many threads together in the previous six books into a dramatic climax.
The Spirit Level comprises two dual-time ghost stories. The Rose Trail is set in the English Civil War and Triskelion has a Druid priestess giving Fay and Percy an urgent message for the modern world.
The next book is always just around the corner. I'm just listening to the whispers from the other side to get the full picture... And now that book (my tenth!) is here. Warrior Queens is the third book in The Spirit Level Series although the link is tenuous. Three friends struggle through adversity and only their bond can get them through. A modern tale of girlpower.