A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of ratcheted loppers for the garden. Bear with me, because this is relevant. For those of you who may not know what a pair of ratcheted loppers is, it’s a tool to chop large-ish branches from shrubs and bushes, and the ratchet action gives you more power than a straightforward pair. Much more, in a very exciting, and believe it or not, inspirational way. Now, before you start thinking I must be a committed gardener, let me say I’m no expert. M

Writing fiction, I’ve discovered, has side-effects. Not bad ones, like some medications, but they are unexpected. Like being more observant. Not only do I notice objects in more detail, I notice things I would never have noticed before. Like spiders’ webs: the way they are constructed - not always perfect, but perfectly designed for purpose. The way the raindrops hang in minute rows along the delicate strands, the way the light refracts from them, with a mirror-like effect if

​Dare to Remember is about many things. It’s about recovery, about mental illness, about therapy, about how life turns on a sixpence. It’s also about people needing people, specifically friends. The story concerns Lisa, whose best friend Ali dies in a horrific incident that changes everything. Lisa hides herself away from other people. She lives alone, without even the daily contact we take for granted through work, neighbours, friends. Even the local shop feels threatening t

As an enthusiastic attendee at literary festivals, where I doggedly choose the sessions with both new and established authors over the celebrity writers, I’ve noticed a commonality in the questions following an author interview. One predictable question would be: “Is your novel autobiographical?” I’ve heard a variety of responses, from a simple “no” to “well, yes, obviously,” and plenty in between. When I started Dare to Remember I was aware of the common premise that an auth