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

When I was around 17 years old, I mentioned to my father that I’d like to write a novel. I’m not sure whether I was thinking about a career in writing, or if I was simply interested in getting a book published, but I’d always enjoyed creative writing in my English classes at school, and relished using my imagination to make up stories. My father’s response was to say: “Don’t be silly. You won’t be able to write a novel. There’s so much research to do.” I remember at the time

​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

Before I finished my novel, Dare to Remember, I took a creative writing course. I wanted to learn the best way to become a published novelist, and so I soaked up as much knowledge as I could – from courses, books and other writers. Towards the end of the course, our tutor asked us what we had got out of the course. Normally I hate being asked this question, having been on many courses when the truthful answer would have been too impolite, but because the course had been parti