I spent my childhood in East Africa. We lived on the banks of the R. Nile in Uganda and beside Lake Victoria in Kenya. At one point we also lived a short distance from Ujiji, in Tanganyika, (now Tanzania) where Stanley met Livingstone. All this has provided me with a lifelong love of wide open tropical places and beaches and the herds of game that wandered around - apart from Crocodiles!
I started writing once the children went to school. I've won or been runner-up in national and local competitions. This boosted my confidence and spurred me on. I have had a few short stories and articles in magazines. I've also had two books published, one a book of walks mainly round Cheshire and the other fun short stories for Christmas.
The Sun in her Hair is my fourth novel; the inspiration for this came when visiting my eldest son in Tuscany and getting to know a little of the area. I have recently heard that this novel has been placed on the short list of the ‘Write Now’ novel competition. The winner is to be announced in November.
I intend to take another look at my novel set in 1926 Malaya. I’ve also started a new contemporary novel that is currently rather shadowy with a vague outline. The trick is to encourage the shadows to coalesce into something tangible that will encourage me to write its story.
