Biography
I was born in London, but my parents emigrated to the USA when I was a baby, so I can claim to be a California Girl. My family came back to the UK a few years later, and I've been here ever since. I went to St Paul's Girls School in London where I didn't get straight As, then went to Leicester University to read Archaeology, later changing to Art History.
At university I discovered Acting, a career which seemed to promise a lifetime of not getting up early in the morning so, after graduating, I went to The Drama Studio London to train as an actor. I worked as an actor for three years doing lots of lovely things from rep theatre in Ipswich, Chester, York, Leicester and Coventry, to the West End, in Peter Nichol's Passion Play opposite Leslie Phillips, Barry Foster and Judy Parfitt, and lots of commercials which paid the rent.
I was lucky enough to play Rodney's girlfriend (the one before the one he married) in the BBC's Only Fool's and Horses, which was recently voted the nation's favourite sit com. It was a wonderful experience, but I decided that fifteen minutes of fame was quite enough so left acting and became an Author instead.
I started with a book called How to become a Working Actor, which was based on my own experiences, and then The Guide to Drama Training in the UK, which involved visiting all the drama schools in the country. In my spare time I got married, had two children and moved to the country, and wrote several more careers books. After nearly ten years of rural living we moved to Bath and I started to write fiction.
I've written lots of short stories, some of which have been on Radio 4. I adapted one into a film script which has gone on to win several major international best drama prizes, including Gold Medal at the Houston International Film Festival, which is the largest in the world. I’ve taught creative writing at several universities, but at the moment I’m teaching for the University of Bristol on their Diploma in Creative Writing, and I also run their Fiction Writing Workshop.
I've run out of careers I fancy beginning with A and, as I don't want to start on the rest of the alphabet, I'm hoping to be an Author forever.
I was born in London, but my parents emigrated to the USA when I was a baby, so I can claim to be a California Girl. My family came back to the UK a few years later, and I've been here ever since. I went to St Paul's Girls School in London where I didn't get straight As, then went to Leicester University to read Archaeology, later changing to Art History.
At university I discovered Acting, a career which seemed to promise a lifetime of not getting up early in the morning so, after graduating, I went to The Drama Studio London to train as an actor. I worked as an actor for three years doing lots of lovely things from rep theatre in Ipswich, Chester, York, Leicester and Coventry, to the West End, in Peter Nichol's Passion Play opposite Leslie Phillips, Barry Foster and Judy Parfitt, and lots of commercials which paid the rent.
I was lucky enough to play Rodney's girlfriend (the one before the one he married) in the BBC's Only Fool's and Horses, which was recently voted the nation's favourite sit com. It was a wonderful experience, but I decided that fifteen minutes of fame was quite enough so left acting and became an Author instead.
I started with a book called How to become a Working Actor, which was based on my own experiences, and then The Guide to Drama Training in the UK, which involved visiting all the drama schools in the country. In my spare time I got married, had two children and moved to the country, and wrote several more careers books. After nearly ten years of rural living we moved to Bath and I started to write fiction.
I've written lots of short stories, some of which have been on Radio 4. I adapted one into a film script which has gone on to win several major international best drama prizes, including Gold Medal at the Houston International Film Festival, which is the largest in the world. I’ve taught creative writing at several universities, but at the moment I’m teaching for the University of Bristol on their Diploma in Creative Writing, and I also run their Fiction Writing Workshop.
I've run out of careers I fancy beginning with A and, as I don't want to start on the rest of the alphabet, I'm hoping to be an Author forever.
