I live in the countryside of the Aylesbury Vale in West Buckinghamshire, South-central England, where I’m surrounded by both the low clay and limestone hills of the Vale, and the steeper ridge and scarp slopes of the Chilterns chalk ranges close by.

I have been writing about nature and my sense of local ‘place’ for just over fifteen years, when a period of maternity leave provided an opportunity to notice and engage with my surroundings more closely than before. But I’ve been writing for much longer than that, enjoying the process of using words to give shape to life whenever there’s an opportunity to do so! 

Working as a teaching assistant and through the secondary school curriculum,  I enjoy daily engagement with words and communication. A significant part of this work is helping others to develop their writing skills and creativity. I’ve been a youth worker in the past, and have also worked in marketing sustainable travel – amongst other roles where the emphasis was often on communication. I’m a graduate in social sciences and hold an Open University postgraduate certificate in Creative Nonfiction.

Having previously written a nature column for the Thame Gazette newspaper, I currently write two pieces for the Bernwode News, the magazine for a 7-parish benefice. I write a monthly ‘Nature Notes’ piece, and a regular ‘Green Page’ topic. I post nature/place-themed pieces on my website as often as I can, whilst I work on collating nonfiction pieces for a book project.

Although the natural world, local landscapes and the everyday experiences of living in this part of England are what interest me most, I’ve written on a broad variety of themes throughout my writing-life and continue to enjoy any opportunity to do so.