Like many angst-ridden teens I wrote poetry, subsuming myself in Blake, The Romantics and The Mersey Beat Poets to better know my art. I even wrote a song for a college production. Then I forgot to do it, lost my voice and got caught up in the humdrum.

I waggled my pen again, about twenty years back – collaboratively, mostly, entering and being placed in a number of competitions in the areas of children’s lit and screen writing. I have also written professionally: training materials, for teachers, and nationally used programmes of study for students of Media and English – but, somehow, those don’t count.

So, four years ago, I decided to get serious. Since then I’ve …

> had two short stories published, by Café Three-Zero (2012/2013) in their Tales from The Café: Vol. One and Red

>was longlisted in the Fish International Memoir Competition (2013)

> won a prize for performance poetry with Tongues and Grooves, Portsmouth (2013)

>had a short story published by The London Magazine, as one of their Southern University Competition winners (2014)

> gained an MA in Creative Writing, with Distinction, at The University of Portsmouth – achieving the MA student Faculty Award (2015)

>> gained a place to study for a PhD in Creative Writing, at The University of Portsmouth (beginning 1st October, 2015)