‘The kind of person who gets kicked in the arse by a rainbow.’
Janine Wulf, 2006
‘We always knew Jerv was destined for a life less ordinary.’
Spencer Fearn, 2007
‘What?! You’re moving to the seaside to write stories?’
My Dad, 2010
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I used to write in my spare time – bitter little rants mainly. It took a while but eventually, I began to show this writing to people. I took a nightclass; I started blogging; I won a couple of writing competitions and pretty soon my confidence was high enough for me to think that I might like to try writing for a living. But I needed some form of guidance, I needed to find out how to be a writer.
I’m also from Rotherham. Rotherham is the best place in the world to come from. If I’d grown up somewhere on the coast, I’d be used to beaches and the sea by now. Or, if I was from The Lake District I’d end up taking all that beautiful countryside for granted. How many Londoners have ever been to the Tower of London, or cruised down the Thames or taken time to walk all the famous streets? There’s so much more to discover in the world when you’re from Rotherham. Because your expectations are so low, everywhere else is new and exciting and beautiful. Like Cornwall, for example.
It seemed an easy decision to combine the two things – help with developing my writing and a desire to live anywhere that wasn’t Rotherham. So, three years ago, I left my job, moved to Falmouth and studied for a Masters in Professional Writing. I’ve stayed in Cornwall ever since.
I don’t write bitter little rants anymore – I write fiction and creative non-fiction. You can read some bits of it here.
