I’m an independent author of, so far, 24 novels, including the bestselling Coming Back to Cornwall series. I currently live in Shropshire but I often write about Cornwall. Having been visiting for holidays since I was a toddler, it’s had an influence on my life for a long time now. My dream is to live there one day but for now the next best thing is writing about it.
I love character-driven fiction, and my novels fall across a number of genres, including women’s fiction, literary fiction, and contemporary romance.
Brand-new for 2026 is Taking Flight – Sophie’s story. Sophie is one of the characters from the Coming Back to Cornwall series and it’s been a pleasure looking at the world from her point of view.
Next up is the final piece of the What Comes Next series, bringing the story full circle from the first Christmas after Ruth’s death.
In the meantime, if you fancy a go at writing yourself, no matter your level of experience, I am co-running a yoga and creative writing day on 13th September in Powys, Wales. I love working with other writers and these days are a perfect opportunity to relax, unwind, be looked after, and see where your creativity takes you.
Coming Back to Cornwall
Originally planned as a contemporary romance trilogy, this is a firm favourite with readers and author alike.
Alice and Julie are returning to Cornwall after ten years away. Old friends, old jobs and an old flame or two await them, as well as a few surprises – some more welcome than others.
I love writing this series; I had never thought I would be a romance writer but the first three books certainly fit that bill and I found I really enjoyed writing them. Then I found that I kept thinking about Alice, and Julie, and wondering how they were getting on. And readers began to ask for more, and that was that. I have tried to finish this series a number of times but somehow I keep getting drawn back to it.
Under a Blue Moon – book twelve – was published on 2nd June 2025. Already, readers are asking when the next book is out, and I have no doubt I will be back with Alice and her friends and family before too long.
Connections
I began writing the Connections series because I wanted to write something distinct from the Coming Back to Cornwall books whilst keeping the Cornish setting. However, while St Ives is very much the inspiration for the town in Coming Back to Cornwall, I looked to nearby Hayle for Connections.
All the characters in the series so far are women; all of different ages. I am considering a male protagonist for book five but watch this space for news on that score…
My general inspiration for this series came from my tendency to find myself wondering about support characters in books, TV programmes and films; thinking how they all must have their own story and their own motivations. I decided I’d write a series where everyone’s story is told – and the previous characters’ stories continue, but from a slightly removed vantage point.
These are also essentially ‘time hop’ books, travelling back and forth from childhood to present day. I know this is not necessarily everybody’s cup of tea but it presents an interesting writing challenge for me while also slowly revealing the full story of each person.
What comes next
My most recent series – set in Shropshire, and inspired by my mother’s death, and the beautiful Soulton Long Barrow.
This is a series exploring a possible life beyond the grave, but focused on the family of protagonist Ruth as they learn to live without her. Husband Graham, daughters Kitty and Annie, son Tom, and a number of other people who are either missing Ruth, connected to her family, or both. I don’t want to give too much away! But it’s not as straightforward as it may first appear.
First Christmas is a novella which introduces us to Ruth, her family, and the long barrow (where Ruth has found new friendships and support among her fellow residents).
Falling Out of Stride is the first full book in the series. Similarly to Connections, there will be a bias towards a different character with each book but this is more subtle in What Comes Next as we will follow the other characters’ stories more closely.
Again it’s different to my other series but, as always, character and location are key. Some readers expressed some initial doubt about the nature of the books, particularly for people who are living with grief, but many people have told me they’ve found the books a comfort and full of hope.
The next book – working title Woman’s Work – is due out later in 2025.
Individual novels
My first three novels are all standalone: Writing the Town Read, Looking Past, and Amongst Friends.
All three books are quite diverse and I wonder these days what I might do differently if I were to write them again.
Writing the Town Read took me about five years to write and at the time I had no idea if I’d ever write another book, so I packed a lot in.
After a few positive but ultimately rejection letters from agents, I decided to take the plunge and self-publish. It was hard-going, for quite a long time, but I knew I was committed to making a go of my writing, and I soon began work on Looking Past – mainly set in my original home county of Yorkshire but, predictably, with a Cornish angle.
Amongst Friends, set in Bristol where I lived for ten years and still miss to this day, is arguably my most ‘unisex’ novel to date, though I have heard from male readers of all my titles.
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