About the author - 2
Dying Fall First published novel
In addition to writing rejected novels, I was also teaching full-time at an inner-city further education college and producing short stories. These soon started to be broadcast on BBC Radio Four or appear in magazines such as 'Bella'.
And then - at long last! - came the magic moment in May 1995, the first novel, Dying Fall, was published.
Eventually I left the college where I'd worked for nearly thirty years. I also left Harborne and moved to Kings Heath, another Birmingham suburb. By some strange coincidence, Kate Power, fresh from the Metropolitan Police, moved there too.
My characters and I also have certain interests in common. Like Sophie, I love classical music. For many years I was a trustee of the City of Birmingham Chamber Music Society. We both also support West Bromwich Albion Football Club.
I have recently left the Midlands after living there all my life. Though they may be able to take me away from the Midlands, they'll never be able to take the Midlands away from me. Even the heroine of Scar Tissue (Allison and Busby, 2004) is an ex-Brummie living in Kent - though there, I hasten to say, the resemblance ends!
