"Writing is just work—there's no secret. If you dictate or use a pen or type or write with your toes—it's still just work."
Sinclair Lewis
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Bio
Born
18 January 1968. Henley-Upon-Thames, UK. Middle child (older brother, younger sister). British mother, Italian father.Childhood
Bossy. Tomboy-ish. Swotty. A defining moment came age 7 when my family moved to Italy and I discovered, to my horror, that I wasn't fluent in Italian the moment I crossed the border. I took to scribbling poems and stories to make sense of my bewildering new circumstances and soon found myself writing about life more than living it. On a positive note, the language barrier certainly subdued my bossiness!• European Baccalaureate. After a disastrous year in an Italian primary school,
I wrapped up my schooling at the European School in Varese, Italy, taking the easy way
out in the English language stream.
• BSc in Biology (2:1), Nottingham University, UK.
• National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in journalism. This qualification came at the
end of a two-year journalism trainee programme run by London publishing group
Morgan-Grampian.
• MA in creative writing (Distinction), Lancaster University, UK. I actually did the first
half of my MA at Birkbeck College, University of London, but switched to Lancaster
University's distant learning programme when I relocated to Singapore,,.
Out and About
Moved to London after university, living and working there on and off for five years, back-packing through Asia and Africa during the "off" year. Next, decamped to Sydney for a year of freelance writing and tremendous fun. Hong Kong followed (just before the territory's handover to China), where an intense mix of hard work and hard play led to burn-out after two years. Ten years back in London followed, and now here I am in Singapore.