Ciadish

I've written for as long as I can remember, and was first published on the letters' page of Barbie magazine aged 8 (I didn't have a Barbie - it was my sister's magazine - but I wanted to be published, and win the cash prize of £1ish, 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 before 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, Diva, Men's Health 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 over seven 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. My most recently published book is Write Now! Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Onto the Page(link is external)

In addition to writing, I love gardening (see GrowEatGift.com(link is external)), creating online and offline STEAM events (ForestOfThoughts.co.uk(link is external)), and nature (Go Wild! Over 250 ways to Connect With Nature(link is external)). I'm fascinated by slime mould and fungi, and the way they grow and communicate, and am working on an evolving piece of writing which may eventually become a book, about what community groups can learn from fungi and slime mould.

I've long been involved in disability activism, created Ciadish.co.uk(link is external) - a site for chroncially ill and disabled (CIAD) writers and readers who want to diversify their bookshelves, and co-created CripCoop.com(link is external), to help chronically ill and disabled people connect and swap skills to make life easier for us all. Listen to a playlist explaining the CripCoOp principles(link is external) on YouTube.