I’m a lesbian feminist with a love of fairy tales.  I wrote my first story aged about eight, which was rediscovered by my mother about the time of my first publication, well over twenty years later; and shown to my publisher… the language had changed, but not the enthusiasms.

I manage Arachne Press, editing anthologies (short stories and poetry) and Young Adult novels, and organise live literature events, including in the past, The Story Sessions, and the annual Solstice Shorts Festival. I taught creative writing at City University as a visting lecturer for eight years.

I had stories published in 2 anthologies before getting my act together to produce my first collection, Mosaic of Air in 1992, now republished by Arachne Press followed by a long delay caused by a career in IT (don’t ask!) and then Tales Told Before Cockcrow in 2008 (currently out of print), also with Onlywomen Press.

In the interim I started several novels, one of which, The Dowry Blade a ridiculously long lesbian fantasy epic ( I do love extremes) was published by Arachne Press in 2015.

The Bog Mermaid is an historical novel set in two time periods in the same house – it is complete and won the Quill LGBTQ+ prize prize in 2022, but didn’t make it to publication becuase the contract didn’t work for me. So I’ve just about finished licking my wounds over that, and am about to send it out to agents.

A science fiction novel – a lesbian space opera which is based on the lead story of Mosaic of Air – is now complete and out looking for a home, currently with the title The Dark is My Delight.

I am just about to go back to a young adult book, about the complications of step families and archaeology and time shifts, which may end up with the original working title of The Dowry Blade, which was A Gift of Time.

Over lockdown I couldn’t work on this YA novel because I needed to do some field work, so I rather disconsolately checked over my unfinished shorts looking for things to gussy up, and found a strange thing set in Oklahoma in the Dust Bowl era and ended up turning it into a novella – A Fish in the Dessert. This is also about to go the rounds of agents – novellas are hard to place!

An historical novel set in Languedoc in 1253 (The Cold Time) is mired in research and may have to be a fantasy after all – if I don’t abandon it entirely.

I now have enough stories for two more collections.  I love juggling all the different themes and plots and characters; there is rarely a moment when I have nothing to write on any of them.

Until about 15 years ago writing was a solitary business, but then I discovered WOOA, a writing group based locally and have discovered I enjoy talking about writing almost as much as I like the actual writing.

I can be found performing my stories anywhere people ask me.

I have had stories (and the ocassional poem) published in a number of anthologies from Onlywomen Press, Arachne Press and Leaf books, and in magazines and online – at Litro, .Cent amongst others.

In August 2013 I read several times at the Towersey Festival as a guest of Spread the Word – an exciting venture that I’d be happy to repeat.

I have had a number of stories read at Liars’ League, and they have become partners-in-crime (along with WOOA) for some of Arachne Press’s anthologies- which doesn’t leave as much time for writing as I’d like.
Outside writing I sing in community choirs, although lock down put a dent in that, and I find it much harder than I used to, and rarely find the time – but the small singing group that I host, Summer All Year Long, have been busy supporting Arachne events with appropriate folk songs, songs rewritten to fit, and poems from the books set to music.

Recently I’ve started a pottery class, and I am absolutely loving it, I find it very calming!