A few years ago I was asked to introduce myself to a complete stranger and requested to do it in three sentences. It was a daunting task, but after a pause I replied, “ I love to write. I adore big hats. When I was eighteen I went on an archaeological dig.” In one sense, this told the stranger absolutely nothing he expected to hear about me regarding, my family, my job or where I lived, in another sense it told him everything he needed to know about my character and hinted at the variety of interests I have, including my love of writing.
As a young child this love of writing certainly didn’t seem likely ever to arise, because I struggled to read and was unable to do so until I was eight years old. My early school life was a lonely, isolated place and I increasingly took refuge in my imagination where I built my own kingdom of magical star encrusted unicorns and fiery dragons. But it was not until I heard the first chapter of “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” as a seven year old, that I really realised what I was missing and how wonderful the realm of children’s written literature could be. It was the spur I needed and within a year I was able to read the whole of the story myself. Ever since then I have been an avid reader and passionate writer.
My first attempt at extended writing was a retelling of “Peter Pan” when I was nine and it was not long before I had a drawer full of stories and poems written to amuse myself and others. Some of my poetry has since been published in small anthologies and magazines, but it was only recently that I decided to concentrate on writing longer tales.
“Through the Eye of the Gelan” is the first of a series of tales which is set in the distant world of Legendia. The tale set on the Isle of Thym follows the adventures of a young, renegade prince called Justin as he embarks on a dangerous pursuit of vengeance, accompanied by the lovely Chari and her feisty younger sister, Fi. Neither is aware of the dangers ahead and Justin is equally unaware how much the sisters will come to depend on him. As they face numerous perils, it is often only their mystical companion Ismowd, a great golden wolf who stands between them and disaster!
In addition to the Realm of the Gelan Chronicles, [as I’ve christened these tales of Legendia], I’m also engaged in writing a number of shorter stories for younger readers about a delightful pair of mischievous twins called the Stragglethorpes; and a set of stories for the very young about a loopy set of dinosaurs.
Finally, after reading the introductory paragraph, you might like to know that I am happily married, with two daughters, Elizabeth and Suzanne. As my family’s support has been very important to me, I have elected to use a pen name when writing which is composed of syllables from my daughters’ names.
And just in case you wanted to know, my hobbies include singing, drawing animals, swimming and walking my dog; a wonderfully affectionate, but completely loopy, red and white, rescue collie called Candy.