5 Five quick questions

When and where did your journey as an author begin?

First time around, as a teenager, winning a writing competition in a newspaper. Then I did nothing creative for forty years, always thinking: one of these days…

A health scare in my fifties made me realise that today is one of these days. I’ve been writing creatively ever since, and I hit seventy this year.

What is (or has been) your proudest moment as a writer?

Like every author, I suspect, I feel a swell of pride each time I see one of my books published. But my proudest moment was when my first novel Gorgito’s Ice Rink was runner-up in the Self-Published Book of the Year Awards back in 2015. A staff member from a well-known high street bookstore picked up a copy and said: wow, it looks like a proper book. I didn’t know whether to kiss him or kick him!

Who or what is your greatest inspiration?

Given that I’ve changed direction quite drastically late in life, I am inspired by that wonderful late bloomer Mary Wesley, author of The Camomile Lawn. She was in her seventies when her first novel for adults was published. And, of course, she made her home in the south-west of England, as have I.

What is coming up next for you, fiction-wise?

After a few years of floating, genre-wise, I have now settled on cosy mysteries, and am busy inventing a community around the fictional village of Coombesford: think Midsomer Murders set in Devon.

The first in the series, Murder at Mountjoy Manor, was published in October 2021. The second, Villainy at the Village Store, is out this year. I’m working on the third at the moment, and have a whole raft of ideas to develop, based partly on the small rural town in which I live (although don’t tell the residents of Chudleigh I said that).

What is your top tip for writers still on the journey towards publication?

There are a number of ways to publication, all equally valid. There’s the traditional approach via an agent and publisher; there’s the full independence provided by self-publishing (the route I chose); and there are a variety of in-between routes. Examine all the options and decide which one is right for you; then pursue it with vigour.