Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello. I was born in Liverpool and moved to the Wirral when I was eight. After a failed marriage, I fled to London when I was twenty-five. That was in the dark ages of the 1980s, and I had great fun there until the bright lights dimmed and I moved to The Isle of Skye twenty years ago.
What a contrast! From a cafe on every corner to a sheep on every corner.
Nowadays I’m in Dunoon, near Glasgow. Two years ago I put my life-long love of writing into action and wrote my first novel — The Last of the Family Diamonds. It’s first in the Izzie Firecracker series about a London self-help guru and is, in a teeny-weensy way, based on my life and my escapades as a stress consultant and personal stylist.
Then came three more Izzie Firecracker books. I followed those with two time-travel romance/adventure novels — the first to 1976 (one of my favourite years) and the second to the 1940s and early 1950s.
What else? Hmm. Oh, ye. I adored Bewitched as a child and recently watched every episode on DVD. So I just had to write the Witches of London series.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is third in the romantic comedy/suspense Witches of London series and was (in part) inspired an amalgam of ex-clients (I was a stress consultant for many years) who wanted to escape domineering partners.
I added a lot of magic and romance into the cauldron in Broomstruck, and you’ll have fun discovering if Hattie can escape the husband who stole her magic many years ago and has since treated her like a slave.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, but I am spontaneous and hate set routines. My only rule is to write every day. But, of course, rules are for breaking, so I succeed about five days a week.
I run on tea!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too numerous to mention. I am an eclectic reader and have been a bookworm since I was six.
But let’s see, the first authors or books which pop into my head:
PG Wodehouse
The Thorn Birds
Polyanna
The Rich Are Different
Elizabeth Jane Howard
Elinor M Brent-Dyer
MC Beaton
Anthony Buckeridge
Penny Vincenzi
Molly Weir
The Firm
The Killing Floor
All Quiet on the Western Front
Sophie Kinsella
Elizabeth Jane Howard
Rachel’s Holiday
What are you working on now?
I’m tapping out a humorous find-yourself saga which begins in the 1970s and probably travels to the present day. I’m about 15,000 words in, and I’m enjoying it. As yet, unnamed. But it begins at the altar as the bride is having doubts before the vows!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll tell you a secret; I love to write but I’m not great at promotions. But I’m guessing Awesome Gang will be awesome, and I’ve already heard lots of good things about their fabulous awesomeness.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it, too much advice can weigh you down, and all will become clearer along the path. What works for me may not be right for you and vice versa.
The most important thing is to enjoy your writing.
Take it one step, or one word, at a time and, above all, have fun.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself — everyone else is taken!
What are you reading now?
The MC Beaton Poor Relation series. What a hoot!
What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know; I go with the flow.
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?
Four chunky classics to befit a slower pace of life. I haven’t chosen them yet.
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