I looked after my father for several years, after he had suffered a stroke. Upon his death, a job was advertised in a large print publishers in my home village. I applied and was lucky enough to get it. I worked there for over twenty years, eventually becoming manger, with that I got a good insight into the publishing world.
However, it wasn’t until my children left home and I was bored one evening that I decided to write myself. I soon found out that writing is a lot harder than I had realised. It is an art form that you have to learn slowly and surely and one I am still learning. I’m sure my agent and publisher despair of me sometimes. But, I love writing and I hope that my love of the Yorkshire Dales is found in my stories.
If you had to describe The Windfell Family Secrets in one sentence, what would it be?
A typical book of family life, all families have their secrets, some more than others.
Is Windfell House based on a real house or an entirely fictional creation?
It is based on a local house. Re-named, but I think anyone local will know that is a well-known house set in beautiful grounds a few miles out of the market town of Settle.
What three words would you use to describe Charlotte?
Feisty, determined and caring.
All of your books to date have been set in your home county of Yorkshire, was this intentional from the start of your writing career or just the way things panned out? If you were to set a story elsewhere in the UK, where would you choose?
I’m a Yorkshire lass, through and through. It was my intention from the start to base them all in Yorkshire. I would really like to write my books in Yorkshire dialect, but that would limit the readership. If I decided to set a story elsewhere in the UK, I’d probably choose the Lake District. I know and love it well and it is so romantic, even on wild wet days.
