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About Me

I was born in Essex and went to University in North Wales (English Literature, 2:1 hons) where I met my first husband, Ioan Jones. We had three daughters but divorced in 2004, whereupon I moved back to Essex with the girls. I married Roderic in August 2006. I have worked for LawCare (www.lawcare.org.uk) since 1998.

Religion-wise, I was raised in a Christian family and became a born-again Christian at the age of 14. I went to a variety of churches, mostly Anglican and/or Evangelical, for the next twenty years or so, but eventually became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I love anything to do with science fiction and fantasy - reading it, writing it and watching it. My favourite film is Galaxy Quest and I love Stargate, Star Trek, and pretty much anything with aliens in it. I enjoy:

  • having long, very hot bubble baths and then sleeping for ten hours or more
  • Radio 2, especially Terry Wogan, Steve Wright and Chris Evans
  • eating way, way too much chocolate, or curry, or chinese, or anything unhealthy
  • staying in nice hotels, preferably with a good pool and spa
  • going to the Temple.
  • going to Florida (hope to have a winter retreat there one day) and America in general.

I don't like:

  • misplaced apostrophe's (sic) - I always correct them, even if it's technically vandalism
  • smoking - should be illegal
  • camping
  • wasps. See camping.
  • British weather. See camping.

My Writing

 

Great news! My latest novel, Easterfield, is now available from www.deseretbook.com and www.amazon.com . It's been a long time since my last novels, Haven and A World Away, were published, so I'm excited to be back in print again. Easterfield is set in Lancashire in 1850 and is a historical romance about the effect one of the first Mormon missionaries has on the people of a provincial English town.

 

I'm also working on several other projects.

  • Christmas at Haven is the third and final book in the Haven trilogy, and tells of Gwen's last Christmas at her beloved Welsh cottage, and the challenges brought over the festive season by a new set of guests, including a Hollywood star and Edward's antagonistic son Ian. [Completed, looking for a publisher]

  • Kept in Trust tells of a recently widowed New York Cop who escapes to Wales on an exchange programme, where he meets and falls in love with a very independent and private young single mother who is at risk of terrifying retribution from the drug dealers she turned in. [To be published by Leatherwood Press in 2009]

  • Honeymoon is a a romantic thriller about a couple honeymooning on the paradise Spanish island of Majorca who become accidentally caught up in a money and drugs laundering operation. [Completed, submitted to publisher.]

  • Finders Keepers is a comedy about four single friends in competition to find the perfect guy. [Very early stages at the moment.]

I also have contributions in two books to be published in 2009 - Famous Family Nights and The World Wide Ward Cookbook.

 

Look out for these titles over the next year or so!

 

I also have a blog, plus blogs on V-Formation (LDS Authors) and LawCare (my work).

 

 

Tips for Aspiring Writers

(I didn't write these. I'm not that good.)

  1. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

  2. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

  3. Also, always avoid awkward, affected and annoying alliteration.

  4. Never ever use unnecessary redundant repetitions.

  5. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.

  6. No sentence fragments.

  7. Verbs has to agree with their subjects

  8. Avoid commas, that are not necessary.

  9. Writing carefully, dangling participles should not be used.

  10. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

  11. Don’t verb nouns.

  12. Employ the vernacular.

  13. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

  14. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

  15.  Remember to never split an infinitive.

  16. Contractions aren't necessary.

  17. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

  18. One should never generalize.

  19. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

  20. Comparisons are as bad as clichés

  21. Be more or less specific.

  22. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

  23. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

  24. The passive voice is to be avoided.

  25. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

  26. Who needs rhetorical questions?

  27. Don't never use a double negative.

  28. Do not put statements in the negative form.

  29. A writer must not shift your point of view.

  30.  Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!

  31. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.

  32. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

  33. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

  34. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague, they're old hat.