I grew up in London, going to Godolphin and Latymer as a full-bursary student back in 1981. I spent nine years in higher education doing an honours in English Literature and Language (Oxford), several masters (York, Oxford), a doctorate (Oxford) and a teacher training certificate (London). These years of study were paused when I worked in advertising, travelled widely, and taught and lectured at Oxford. Back in London, I taught English at St Paul’s Girls’ School in London for nine years until 2011, where I ran the Creative Writing Group and was awarded the title of 'Teacher Trailblazer' by the Poetry Society. After some tutoring in London and delivering various creative writing workshops to teachers and students in London schools, I moved to France where I work as an online tutor.

​

The big passions in my life are teaching, reading (check out my profile on GoodReads) and writing. I have contributed to various journals (including Slightly Foxed) and academic books. I am now working on a novel: the first draft was long-listed for a creative writing award in 2024; I am now working on the third and hopefully final draft.

​​​

I love travelling and this has informed my much of my writing and my choice of reading. I worked as an adventure travel tour guide for several years in my late twenties and this gave me the chance to discover all about the culture and history of countries such as Morroco, China, and Egypt. Living in France is a daily adventure: learning new words, new customs, new ways of thinking.

​​

I enjoy sports too: yoga and swimming are hugely important to me; I SCUBA dive and ski; and I walk all the time, being lucky enough to live in the middle of a stunning landscape. A few years ago, I set off from my house in south-west France and walked 1376 km to Fisterra in Spain, along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, raising over £6000 for ME research. More recently, I have been getting to know France better - walking more of the Chemin de Compostelle and going on yoga retreats in other parts of the country.

​​​