About the author
My dream of becoming a writer began when I was six or seven years old back in the mid 1960s. My head was always in an adventure book, especially those by Enid Blyton and Malcolm Saville; I've never really left the world of mystery and crime. But, work, marriage and folk music took over and, at the time, I didn't have the discipline to take writing seriously.
After a particularly debilitating illness later in life, I took a writing course and began to have articles and short stories accepted by national magazines and newspapers. I also entered several writing competitions and was pleased to be placed or highly commended in several; this gave me the confidence to up my game and try my hand at writing a novel.
With the help of a professional editing company, I finished my first full-length novel; a children's adventure story called The Quest for the Crystal Skulls. That novel came from my love of Native American prophecies and ancient myths and legends. It received some lovely reviews and I'm extremely proud of it.
My love of cosy crime, however, took over. Having read hundreds of cosies over the years, I decided to create my own series and came up with the character of Lord James Harrington, Lord of the Manor and amateur sleuth. I write these books simply for the fun of it and launched them on Kindle to see how they would be received. The feedback I've had, both through reviews and personal emails, has been overwhelming. I'm thrilled that others enjoy Lord Harrington's adventures as much as I love writing them. My one remaining dream is that a TV producer will pick these mysteries up and decide to adapt them for the small screen. If you are that producer – contact me! For details on those books, please visit: www.lordjamesharrington.com. The books have since been picked up by Ulverscroft who publish the series in large print and audio.
Three years ago, I took a break from Lord James and began work on the authorised biography of the late Italian actor, Rossano Brazzi, a super sexy guy who was part of the golden age of Hollywood. He's most famous, internationally, for his role as Emile De Becque in South Pacific and other classics of the time, The Barefoot Contessa, Summertime and Three Coins in a Fountain. Younger audiences may know him as the man who drives the red Lamborghini around the Italian alps at the start of the 1969 film The Italian Job. During researching the actor, I personally got involved in the restoration of one his earlier films, We the Living. This was made in Italy in 1942 and was banned by Mussolini because of its anti-Fascist content. Fortunately, the original negatives of the film were saved from being destroyed and it has been completely restored with sub-titles and is being shown in independent cinemas around the world. I am proud to have become an Executive Producer on that restoration project and to have attended its New York premiere with Rossano's nephew and his family.
At the same time as writing the biography, I wrote You Will Meet a Stranger, published by The Book Guild. This is the book that I put my heart and soul into after the death of my husband. I wrote a diary for the first couple of years following his death and recorded my emotions, thoughts and feelings. You Will Meet a Stranger emerged from those entries and became a cathartic way to deal with bereavement.
Aside from writing, I am a contemporary folk musician. I was, at one point, on the verge of going professional in the early 1980s and featured on a couple of albums. The Melody Maker, a now out of print go-to paper for music fans, cited me as one of the best female guitarists in the UK. I'm influenced by the Laurel Canyon collective i.e. James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash. It's now a hobby and I frequent a number of open-mic sessions where I live in West Cornwall.