I was born in January 1983 and quickly fell in love with words and stories, often falling asleep in my cot with a book on my face. Mum and Dad asked my playgroup to evict me from the book corner – I was quite content to read all day, but my parents had wild visions of me becoming a well-rounded member of society. Despite being an obedient kid by nature, throughout my childhood I would creep from my bed and switch the light back on, because how could I possibly sleep without knowing what happened next?

I panicked aged seventeen when the whimsical conversations about what I wanted to do with my life (early choices included: growing a tail, running a hotel with no guests and becoming Enid Blyton) became serious. After taking a pop-psych test at school, I was reliably informed that my most compatible career options were lawyer or teacher, and so in 2001 I headed to Oxford to begin my degree in law (or as my alma mater would have it, jurisprudence). I had high hopes of the subject either being logical and internally consistent or involving philosophical debates about the nature of rights and duties and the role of the state in enforcing morality. These hopes were somewhat crushed by the realities of studying the English legal system, but I loved my time there and the incredible friends I made.

In our second year, we were plied with free canapés and drinks in swanky venues where students never normally set foot, as the law firms came to court us. Despite our initial scepticism, most of us caved to their charms. I started my legal career in September 2005 and City life was a buzz. Once again I found myself surrounded by charismatic, astute, ambitious people, and I settled into a pattern of working until the small hours during the week so I could spend cosy weekends as a newly-wed fixing up our first home, a maisonette at the end of the Metropolitan Line. Once qualified, I spent over a decade specialising in corporate pensions law, a technical area that is far more interesting than it sounds (though best skirted over if you want people to talk to you at parties).

I must have voiced my secret writing dream at some point, as I came to understand that ‘everyone’ secretly wishes to write a novel. It made perfect sense to me, but the weight of 8 billion souls all bursting to tell their tales made me silence the stories that flitted through my own mind. There couldn’t possibly be space for them. Until I couldn’t bear all that not-writing any longer. The words needed to be released if only for my own relief and so began my life as a writer.

I left the law to focus on my three kids and my writing, which also meant being home enough to fulfil another dream: completing our family with a puppy. Arya is a cavapoo made entirely of fluff, enthusiasm and a long tongue (imagine a friendly, unkempt rug and you’re close). With more time to volunteer, I became chair of governors and literacy link at my local junior school. I’m passionate about encouraging a love of reading in kids, particularly those who missed out on building their reading stamina during the pandemic. It’s highlighted to me the importance of accessible formats to engage young readers and help them to feel excited about books, rather than intimidated by dense text on a page. As my youngest became more independent, I wanted to balance my writing with spending more time in school, supporting kids and learning more about what gets them excited about reading and writing. I now spend three days a week as a teaching assistant in KS2 of a primary school, and love every second of it.

Writing can be a solitary endeavour, but learning from others and forming a cohort of peers have made it way more fun. As well as the hours, days, weeks and months of typing away, I’ve taken courses with Write Mentor and the Professional Writing Academy, learning from the warm and wonderful, late Marcus Sedgwick, the gentle and brilliant Liz Flanagan, the charmingly open Lindsay Galvin, the enthusiastic and insightful Simran Sandhu and the thoughtful and sharp-eyed Kathryn Price. I’ve also shared the ups and downs of writing with my fabulous critique group, an inspiring coven of writers who are one another’s biggest supporters but have no fear in being honest about one another’s work.