You will find Dad’s sonnet in the memory garden in Horsham park. I don’t believe in an afterlife and I’m inclined to cringe when people talk to their dead relatives in books or television dramas. None the less, I often find myself drawn to the park bench beneath Dad’s poem after my daily swim. Of late, I’ve even found myself begging him for a good idea for a new book. He hasn’t come up with one yet! It’s been over seven years since he died. I didn’t cry at the time; strangely, not long afterwards, I sobbed my eyes out when our elderly cat was put to sleep.

TEN RANDOM THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT PUBLISHING (WITHOUT THE CYNICAL STUFF!) When my new middle-grade novel 'Zak Monroe Is (Not) My Friend' (UCLan) comes out on April 3rd it will be my tenth published work of fiction. To mark that milestone (well it feels like a milestone to me) I thought I’d make a list of ten random things I’ve learned about publishing and writing since my first book appeared in 2008. It’s much easier to write about something you genuinely care about. The settings and characters might be different, but I’m always drawn to the themes of injustice, bullying, sympathy with the underdog and the transformative power of friendship.

ALT: a drawing of a person with the words " spread the love " on it

To add your name to this letter, please fill and submit the form at the bottom. Wednesday 12th February 2025: We are some among the 2.4 million working in the UK creative industries. We are staring i...

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