My writing: I've been writing ever since I can remember. I started school in a small village school in England and writing long stories was greatly encouraged (not necessarily good long stories, but long all the same). Reading was a big thing too, at home and at school. We always had a house full of books. I loved to disappear into magical places, go on exciting adventures or be terrified by the scary pictures.
Despite my love of books and writing, though, I didn't seriously start to write until 12 years ago. Up until then I'd been sidetracked by my other love - art. I have a need to create and it was so easy in those days to just pick up a pen and draw. Art was the one thing that had set me apart from my siblings when I was younger (they were good at it too, but not so interested), so it was also a bit of a security blanket. Then, after the adoption of our second son, I found myself in a strange place. After three years of jumping though hoops and walking tightropes to get to the point of adoption, I now had no pressure on me to do anything. I had two beautiful boys, but no one telling me I had to finish something by a certain date. I missed the angst! So I enrolled in a writing course and that's how it all began.
Since then, I've finished three novels, started two sequels and have at least five more stories quietly bubbling on the back burner of my brain. If wishes were fishes, I'd earn a living at writing and illustrating, but that might be a lonely life and I love the job I have, so I'm happy where I am.
Treespeaker was the first novel I started, but the second that I finished. It came out of events in my life at the time I started writing it, mixed with a strange dream about a tree and bolstered by the wonderful, character-filled face of a lesser known actor who inspired me to create Jakan. I'm now working on the sequel, tentatively entitled 'Forest Child', which I hope to have out by the end of the year.
