So, what on earth made me into a writer?
No idea - especially as I took a science degree!
I was born (after my Mum had a series of miscarriages - see my stories in Some Girls' Mothers) with the aid of an experimental drug (since banned). This unfortunately wrecked my immune system, but, although I do get a bit fed up with the various disabilities this has thrown at me, I do realise it's all terribly character-building! ...as was growing up in the 1960s and '70s in the very-depressed industrial belt of Central Scotland. Oh joy!
Since then I've worked in everything from a brussel-sprout cutting shed to disability politics to Opera North, and have been a freelance writer for the last 25 years. I adore sea-kayaking and mashed potato, and now live very happily in the Yorkshire Pennines. I also spend a fair amount of time up in North West Scotland where my Mum lives - so clearly I have an affinity with rain.
I did my apprenticeship as a writer in the lesbian writing and performance group The Outlanders. We met every week for over 7 years in Manchester and constantly wrote new material - poetry, sketches, monologues, fiction, and even a bit of stand-up - and tried it out at our very regular performances all over Britain. This was a fantastic grounding in writing, receiving crit from other writers, and getting direct feedback from very lively audiences - and it forced me to constantly generate new work. I can recommend this type of apprenticeship to any budding writers out there - gruelling, but lots of fun.
From The Outlanders, I set up my own theatre company and toured with this, and, after a couple of years, got into writing for radio through a lucky break - the Head of BBC Radio Drama came to see one of my stage plays at West Yorkshire Playhouse and asked me if I could do a radio version. People Come Here To Cry has since been broadcast - to consistent acclaim - numerous times by the BBC. I've since had five more BBC Radio 4 plays broadcast.
So, I started out in poetry and short fiction, moved into writing for the stage, then radio, tried my hand (and won a couple of awards) at telly and screenwriting.
In 2011, I was head-hunted by the wonderful Ronnie Goodyer at Indigo Dreams Publishing - an independent publisher. He has been an absolute dream to work with, and has published my latest two poetry collections: 'The Thousand Natural Shocks', and 'The Cloud Appreciation Society's Day Out'. And my first short story collection 'Something Vital Fell Through'.
In 2018, Valley Press published my latest poetry collection 'Full Stops in Winter Branches'.
I also tutor and lecture in creative writing - working with age groups as wide as 4-year-olds to 98-year-olds. I love this work - helping budding writers learn the art and craft (and hard graft!) of writing. It gives me a real buzz when I see my students' skills and confidence really start to develop, and when their own writing 'voice' comes out to play.
I was born (after my Mum had a series of miscarriages - see my stories in Some Girls' Mothers) with the aid of an experimental drug (since banned). This unfortunately wrecked my immune system, but, although I do get a bit fed up with the various disabilities this has thrown at me, I do realise it's all terribly character-building! ...as was growing up in the 1960s and '70s in the very-depressed industrial belt of Central Scotland. Oh joy!
Since then I've worked in everything from a brussel-sprout cutting shed to disability politics to Opera North, and have been a freelance writer for the last 25 years. I adore sea-kayaking and mashed potato, and now live very happily in the Yorkshire Pennines. I also spend a fair amount of time up in North West Scotland where my Mum lives - so clearly I have an affinity with rain.
I did my apprenticeship as a writer in the lesbian writing and performance group The Outlanders. We met every week for over 7 years in Manchester and constantly wrote new material - poetry, sketches, monologues, fiction, and even a bit of stand-up - and tried it out at our very regular performances all over Britain. This was a fantastic grounding in writing, receiving crit from other writers, and getting direct feedback from very lively audiences - and it forced me to constantly generate new work. I can recommend this type of apprenticeship to any budding writers out there - gruelling, but lots of fun.
From The Outlanders, I set up my own theatre company and toured with this, and, after a couple of years, got into writing for radio through a lucky break - the Head of BBC Radio Drama came to see one of my stage plays at West Yorkshire Playhouse and asked me if I could do a radio version. People Come Here To Cry has since been broadcast - to consistent acclaim - numerous times by the BBC. I've since had five more BBC Radio 4 plays broadcast.
So, I started out in poetry and short fiction, moved into writing for the stage, then radio, tried my hand (and won a couple of awards) at telly and screenwriting.
In 2011, I was head-hunted by the wonderful Ronnie Goodyer at Indigo Dreams Publishing - an independent publisher. He has been an absolute dream to work with, and has published my latest two poetry collections: 'The Thousand Natural Shocks', and 'The Cloud Appreciation Society's Day Out'. And my first short story collection 'Something Vital Fell Through'.
In 2018, Valley Press published my latest poetry collection 'Full Stops in Winter Branches'.
I also tutor and lecture in creative writing - working with age groups as wide as 4-year-olds to 98-year-olds. I love this work - helping budding writers learn the art and craft (and hard graft!) of writing. It gives me a real buzz when I see my students' skills and confidence really start to develop, and when their own writing 'voice' comes out to play.
