Ciadish

I've written for as long as I can remember, first published on the letters' page of Barbie magazine aged 8 (I was no Barbie fan - it was my sister's magazine - but I wanted to be published, and win the cash prize of about £1, so I wrote a poem about how much I loved Barbie, as I'd noticed that's what they seemed to publish).

From there, I had a few poems published in anthologies, had a prose non-fiction piece in the book Dates from Hell, and became editor of my student newspaper by age 21 (a paid position, back then). I moved to London to make freelance contacts,working in the music industry, moving into marketing for organisations including ABCtales, helping create the forums and providing articles for the website.

I was shortlisted for Company magazine Young Fiction Writer of the Year and the Cosmopolitan McPeake scholarship but still couldn't get unpaid work experience at either magazine.

After sending out hundreds of pitches over many years, I finally got a break in journalism and spent a couple of decades writing for women's magazines, and founding Scarlet magazine. I also wrote for various other titles including The Lancet, The Guardian and Marketing Week, and wrote a number of scripts for the Lovers' Guide.

I secured my first publishing deal, which was the start of a long and happy (if not particularly lucrative) writing career. I wrote 2-4 books per year for a decade or so, translated into 11+ languages, but my health declined sharply after serious illness and I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Sydrome (I was born with it but it took medics 30 years to notice, and only then after I suggested it may be the issue).

I had several low years as I came to terms with being largely housebound, and giving up an active media and publishing career. However, I wrote my way through it, starting with poetry, and worked my way up to a novel, which took me 7 years to research and write. It tells the story of May, Jenny and Jane Morris - William Morris's daughters and wife, but all skilled artists and impressive women independent of William - contrasting their lives against that of a fictional working class heroine, Lily, who wants to be an artist but never realised it was a possibility, until she is introduced to the Arts and Crafts movement through a gentleman who finds her alluring. I'm currently seeking representation/a publisher. It feels like the best thing I've written but it's taken a lot of effort and a fair bit of pain. Historical fiction is a whole new level of challenge but so satisfying to write.

In addition to writing, I love gardening (see GrowEatGift.com), creating online and offline STEAM events (see ForestOfThoughts.co.uk) and foraging. I'm fascinated by slime mould and fungi, and the way they grow and communicate, and am currently writing a presentation for my day-job as Co-op Member Pioneer (alerting community groups to funds and providing community support), about what community groups can learn from fungi and slime mould.