About me

Author photo of woman in glasses with blue knitted jumperBIO: My debut novel, Fledging, was published by Renard Press in August 2024 and is in the running for the People’s Book Prize. I was born and raised in London but my heritage stems from various places beyond the British Isles. A lover of language in all its forms, I speak French, Italian and Arabic. I write in my spare time, with the encouragement and support of my writing circle, the Southbank Scribblers, whom I met on a CityLit novel-writing course. I live in South London with my civil partner and Tolstoy, an extremely fluffy ginger tabby. 

 

GET TO KNOW ME: I like stories that surprise and inspire me, that speak to my heart and leave an impression for days and weeks afterwards. But I also love writing that makes me think, that forces us to look both within and outside ourselves and understand something new about the human race – whether uplifting or horrifying.

I saved my first novel – for children – on a floppy disk when I was thirteen years old. Only my mum will ever appreciate its brilliance because it’s stayed in a drawer ever since.

After that I wrote a novella and then my first full-length novel with so much secrecy I may as well have signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Finally, I decided to get serious. I signed up to a CityLit novel-writing class and got myself a writing circle (the ‘Southbank Scribblers’, and then the ‘Zoom-Southbank Scribblers’) to whom I will be eternally grateful. I tried not to chew a hole through my cheek, and started letting OTHER PEOPLE see my writing. 

And it worked! In 2023 I signed with the wonderful Laetitia Rutherford and in  August 2024 Renard Press published my debut novel, Fledging.

In my spare time I like to spot herons along my local river, run with a huge grin on my face, and eat things involving cheese.