I live on the south coast of England with my husband, four children and lively Labrador, Hubble (never give a dog a name that rhymes with trouble!). I taught in primary schools for over fifteen years, before dedicating more of my time to writing. 

In the summer of 2017, I was delighted to gain a publishing contract with Ruby Fiction, an imprint of Choc Lit, for my second novel, The Purrfect Pet Sitter. Currently out as an ebook, with paperback and audio editions due for release on August 6^th, it is the story of what happens when you rediscover the one you let get away.

Prior to pitching The Purrfect Pet Sitter, I had self-published a contemporary romance novel, Crazy Over You, and a children’s book, Finding a Friend. Self-publishing taught me a great deal about the publishing process, building an author platform and promotion.

My latest novel, also published by Ruby Fiction, is Maybe Baby, a romantic comedy. It is the sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter, but can be read as a standalone story. Having recently completed a blog tour, I am delighted to have received reviews such as:

 “Incredibly entertaining, this book has everything, animals, humour, romance, an old flame and a pregnancy test!” 

It is always scary when you send a new book out into the world and so receiving lovely reviews really does mean a lot. 

My work in progress is a contemporary romance, unrelated to my previous books. I started it before the idea came to me for Maybe Baby, and I have to say returning to it and regaining the same focus, is proving difficult. Though as my husband likes to point out, actually writing instead of being on social media would help.

Self-discipline is not my strong point, but I am working on it and intend to prepare more of my social media posts up front. Having said that, I do think it is important to interact and be present too – with an allocated time limit, of course ;-)

My writing process varies depending on the story. For Maybe Baby, I had a spreadsheet for dates, and plotted precisely, because the story required it. Ordinarily, when I start work on a novel, I buy a new notebook (who doesn’t love a pretty new notebook?) that will eventually contain everything related to that story.

I then plan the outline, build character profiles, and commence research – which I know will continue as I write. Once my new notebook is armed with these essentials, I start writing on my laptop. As the characters develop and the story progresses, I am happy to be led in new and exciting directions.

I love it when the story is flowing, and I feel I can’t type fast enough to get it all down. Conversely, when the ideas are not coming, and the word count is hovering in one place for too long, it can be frustrating. At times like this, I endeavour to keep going and get something down. I can always edit it – once, twice, or twenty-seven times – later. I don’t generally have a set daily word limit I try to reach as I have a busy house and life, but if I am away to write, I set myself goals.

My advice to writers, including myself, would be focus on getting your book written, there are plenty of distractions, but the only thing that will make that word count grow is actually writing!