Wishing on a wishing tree

“There’s a wishing tree in Irish Falls. The bits of paper tied to its gnarled branches hold the hopes and dreams of everyone in town…” That’s from the blurb for my most recent book, The Wishing Tree in Irish Falls, a story about wishes come true, even for those who...

When tragedy strikes close to home

I’ve now lived in Canada for almost five years and although England will always be one of my ‘homes,’ my English and Canadian lives rarely intersect. Last weekend was different, though, and I was reminded that despite being geographically distant, my English...

Voices in my head

In a Twitter exchange earlier this week, my author friend Jane Cable commented on the importance of writer friends, saying: “They don’t think you’re odd to have voices in your head.” Although Jane and I were chatting about finding writing inspiration (which usually...

For the love of libraries

As both reader and author, one of the things I’ve missed most during this time of self-isolation is visiting the library. From childhood until now, libraries have been one of my happy places—to learn, get book recommendations, find a sense of community and more....