A military childhood and a career in politics

I’m from a military family, and we moved often while I was a child, living in the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, what was then West Germany, the United States and several corners of Salisbury Plain. I studied English at Magdalen College, Oxford, and then tried teaching in London with Teach First. Fifteen years of working in politics and public affairs followed and I now do freelance public affairs and communications work alongside my writing. I’m still a news obsessive and spend too much time doomscrolling on BlueSky and Instagram. I’ve also stood for election to Parliament twice, an experience which informed the next book I’m working on – stay tuned….

When I’m not writing, I read all the time, anywhere. When I was 8, my history teacher caught me reading Enid Blyton books under the desk and told me I could do it only if I kept up with the lesson as well. I usually have three on the go at any one time – one audiobook for the school run, one hard copy for bedtime and one on my phone (usually via Libby or BorrowBox) for all those in between moments. I post my favourite books I’ve read each month on Instagram. My favourite time of day is reading stories with my two young children at bedtime, so I always include at least one children’s book.

My parents always took us to every museum and National Trust property within range of wherever we were living, and I do the same with my own children. We particularly love the Imperial War Museum at Duxford and we will take a substantial detour to visit a good castle. We spend most holidays on the beautiful Isle of Bute off the west coast of Scotland, building forts on its beaches.