In 2010 I decided it was time for change and retired after thirty years of teaching languages. The first thing I did was learn to play the harp, which was a bit of a surprise. The second was to start writing. This was less of a surprise, as I’ve always loved words and language. I was, however, unsure about what sort of writer I was going to be. The Open University Course A215 in Creative Writing showed me that I enjoyed everything – poetry, life writing and short fiction. I passed with distinction and had two pieces selected for publication in Ink Pantry Press’s anthology of Open University students’ work, Fields of Words (http://inkpantry.com/ ). In 2014 I obtained a pass with distinction for the Open University Course A363, Advanced Creative Writing; this hugely enjoyable course enabled me to explore stage and radio drama and also helped me fine-tune my fiction writing.

I was delighted to win third prize in the Mslexia Women’s Short Story Competition 2014 with my story ‘Shifting sands’, which was originally one of my A363 assignments.

This story, set in South Uist and Benbecula, is the lead story in my first short story collection, Shifting Sands: Tales of Transience and Transformation, published in November 2015.  The German version of ‘Shifting sands’ has been published in the anthology Weibsbilder, published by Edition Narrenflug, Kiel. The German version of ‘Ships that pass’, a further story from my collection, is available in the German anthology Vierertreffen and also comes from Edition Narrenflug.  Details of how to buy these books are on my publications page.

I am currently completing an MA in Creative Writing with the Open University, specialising in poetry.