Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a teacher in the UK for the last 15 years and have always made stories up, but mostly just for the children that I have taught. Writing a novel myself has been a life long ambition, but I just couldn’t quite seem to get started.
This is my debut novel and it took me a year and a half to write.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Sick Teacher’s Cook Book has been inspired by every single day of the last 15 years of my career. Although it is fictional, the school and the characters are all a figment of my imagination – they all reflect a piece of me at some level – the situations, emotions and feelings are all real. The stresses, pressures and responsibilities that teachers in the UK are confronted by every day are real.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to take my dog, Jet – a working Cocker Spaniel – for a walk. It lets me meditate I guess. I let my mind go blank and then the characters just start talking and arguing with each other. Sometimes I just think about the last couple of pages that I have written and then let my mind wander, and the next pat of the story just evolves.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been hugely influenced by Harper Lee, George Orwell and Jack Kerouac.
What are you working on now?
My next novel. It is also revolving around a community linked to a school, but it deals with the responsibility each generation has to the next and the notion of lost love and moving on.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I guess I am finding that out now!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t give up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Things don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
What are you reading now?
A short history of tractors in Ukrainian.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting and marketing as an Indie Author and learning how best to sell a book.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
War and Peace – Tolstoy. It takes so long to read and there are lots of pages that you can use as toilet roll.
Coming up for Air – George Orwell
The stories of Anton Chekov
Author Websites and Profiles
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