Welcome to my author website, where words are your right to roam
What's the Story?
Though I write lots of made up tales, this one happens to be true. I've been writing and telling stories since I was knee-high to a flowerpot.
In 2021, my story, 'Clean', a chronicle of love in the time of corona, made it onto the BBC National Short Story Award longlist. My writing accolades include the Macallan/Scotland on Sunday, Happenstance, Woman’s Own magazine, and Neil Gunn awards and long-listings in the Edge Hill University and Frank O'Connor prizes for The Secret's in the Folding, my short story collection. Other stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published in translation in Portuguese and Polish. With my novel, Cane and Fire, set on Brazil’s Sweet Coast under consideration with agents, I'm writing a second novel about a circus fire.
In 2019 I was awarded the Dr Andrew Duncan Medal to recognise my contributions to horticulture. My book, Plastic-free Gardening, raises funds for therapeutic gardening projects.
I have lots of experience in running stimulating writing workshops and presenting literary events: contact me directly or via the Scottish Book Trust. You're cordially invited to my Improbable Locations writing workshops in exotic places (or more likely, via the internet), and to sign up for updates.
Many of my stories, like my family, are scattered across the globe - in Brazil, Australia and other far away spots. Sometimes my pen roams to fictional locations: a vast South American savanna, a rock in a wild ocean, a moment long swallowed up in the mists of time, and I hope my readers enjoy the journey.
Reviews
improbable location Workshops
Upcoming Events
Sat, 14 SeptLibrary of São Paulo14 Sept 2024, 12:00 – 15:00 BSTLibrary of São Paulo, Av. Cruzeiro do Sul - Santana, São Paulo - SP, Brazil
Wed, 15 NovMuseum of the Firefighter Corps, S Paulo15 Nov 2023, 19:00 – 21:00Museum of the Firefighter Corps, S Paulo, R. Domingos de Morais, 2329 - Vila Mariana, São Paulo - SP, 04035-000, Brazil
Wed, 16 NovMuseum Candido Portinari16 Nov 2022, 10:00 – 14:00 GMT-4Museum Candido Portinari, Praça Candido Portinari, 298, Centro, Brodowski - State of São Paulo, 14340-000, Brazil
Sun, 09 OctMuseu da Casa Brasileira (MCB)09 Oct 2022, 16:38 BST – 10 Oct 2022, 16:38 BSTMuseu da Casa Brasileira (MCB), Av. Brg. Faria Lima, 2705 - Jardim Paulistano, São Paulo - SP, 01451-000, Brazil
Governo do Estado de São Paulo, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons