About Me / Downloads for Press
Why I write fiction
Like many authors, I began writing stories from a young age. I was lucky to pursue a career in travel writing from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s, both online and in print. Those assignments literally and figuratively opened the world to me, but it wasn't until the Covid19 pandemic that I began to take fiction writing seriously.
Oddly enough, having to stay at home for a prolonged period sparked some creative juices to flow. I devoured online instruction about the business of self-publishing.
Now that I have three novels and another about to be published in late 2024, I can't see a return to non-fiction writing.
(But never say never, eh?)
My "author brand"
If you had asked me what an author brand is before I self-published Unconventional Daughters in 2020, I probably would not have known the answer.
While 'Daughters' and the interlinked two follow-up novels, Uncommon Sons and Undeniable Relations, are technically historical fiction, I'd rather not be pigeon-holed as only that kind of author.
My newest work, Grow up, Rory Rafferty is set in Toronto in 1979, rendering it contemporary adult fiction. It won't be considered 'historical fiction' until 2029... but the story most definitely involves a vintage, pre-Internet era.
...and what that brand truly is
I want to give a voice to characters who are often left out in mainstream storytelling. Some may be loosely based on people I've met or known in my sixty-plus years on earth; others are entirely figments of my imagination.
I'm comfortable in researching the backgrounds of characters who might not be White, male, or gay - characters unlike me who I feel should be given a role in historic or contemporary fiction. I always use sensitivity readers from that minority group to ensure I'm telling the truth.
The service industry jobs I had as a young man - from being a short-order cook to waiting on tables - were of great value. They were opportunities to be a silent witness and observer. For example, I've seen or experienced bullies, rich and poor, from all corners of the earth. I don't want those characters to have the last word.
The writer doesn't forget these experiences and people;
they inhabit his or her fiction.