When I was 14 my grandfather, who’d had his first book published at the age of 70, said that I would be a writer. 

At the time I had no idea why he said it as I was consistently told how poor my spelling and grammar were (later reflected in failing my English Language 0-level twice). 

Perhaps his words had something to do with the fact that I was an ardent story teller and spent hours ‘writing books’ which essentially were for my eyes only.  At the age of 11 I wrote three books, but announced that I only really liked the first, 'The Time Eater'. 

In my early teens I wrote countless poems (mostly as cries for help in response to desperate unhappiness).  Around the age of 14 I wrote a book about my sister’s dog (who’d just died) and a book about the Queen. Around the same time I had prayers published in the young people’s Daily Bible Reading Notes - Compass.

At 17 I wrote a poem called 'Puppet on a String' which spoke of my battle with anorexia. I decided to take the diaries I had kept in hospital and write a book (for my eyes only).  When I was 19 a local reporter heard about my writings and suggested I send them for publication.  I sent the manuscript to a literary agent who said: 'I'm delighted to take on your book.  It really does merit publication.  You write well, the content is compulsive and many will be helped by it ... You have written a good book.  My guess is you will write more'. Three weeks later I’d signed a contract with a London publisher for the publication of Puppet on a String which became a Christian bestseller and over twenty years on it is still in print.

I believe that God is the One who has opened doors and I have been very fortunate in that virtually all my books have been commissioned or accepted first time round.  I have lots more books still inside me and plan to keep writing for as long I know it is right to do so.

Besides writing books my other love is writing Daily Bible Reading Notes and I am a regular contributor to Inspiring Women Every Day (winner of the periodical of the year at the Christian Booksellers' Convention in 2004) published by CWR. 

I am a member of three professional bodies:

The Society of Authors which is a non-profit making organisation, founded in 1884, "to protect the rights and further the interests of authors".  The first president was Lord Tennyson, and a great many prominent writers, including Shaw, Galsworthy, Hardy, Wells, Barrie, Masefield, Forster, A. P. Herbert, and countless contemporary writers, have assisted in its activities and campaigns.

The Society of Women Writers’ and Journalists which was founded in 1894 by newspaper proprietor Joseph Snell Wood and has grown to become an international association.  The aims of SWWJ include the encouragement of literary achievement, the upholding of professional standards, and social contact with fellow writers and others in the field, including editors, publishers, broadcasters, and agents.

The Association of Christian Writers whose vision is to see quality writing in every area of the media, whether it be overtly Christian or shaped by a Christian perspective, reaching the widest possible range of people throughout the UK and beyond.