about me

Can you remember where you were in August 2011?

I can. The memory is burned into my mind.

Our capital city was on fire, and for four seventeen-hour overnight shifts, I was part of a Metropolitan Police command team, as a Public Order CADRE commander, deployed to restore order to the streets for the people of London— while the world watched. With the Olympics and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations looming, the pressure to restore London’s reputation was immense.

One moment stands out. I was standing on a dais at Hendon Police Training College, dressed in flameproof overalls, facing a briefing room the size of an aircraft hangar. It was packed with hundreds of specialist Public Order trained officers drafted in from across the country. As I scanned the room before delivering my operational briefing, I realised — with much surprise — that I was the only woman in the room that night.

It was only then that it struck me that this was not how most women chose to spend their Saturday nights!

Things were very different in 2012, when I was part of mammoth command teams for the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, with women in many of the most senior roles. Serious disorder did not manifest itself, mainly due to exceptional planning, but the events were no less challenging from a security point of view.

So how did I get from there to here?

If you had told me then that fifteen years later I would be a published author, I would have laughed. I’d barely read a book in three decades of earlies, lates and nights, quick changeovers and one weekend off in four. The idea of writing one? Not a chance!

When I hung up my Superintendent’s epaulettes for the last time in 2015, after thirty years of being governed by policy and procedure, legislation and regulations, I knew I was ready for a creative outlet — but writing wasn’t even on my radar. To begin with, I tried pottery (too many wonky pots), dressmaking (too many unwearable garments), cake decorating (way too much fondant) and photography (I’m still sorting an archive of 100,000 photos). I even had an allotment for several years!

Each was enjoyable, but none quite stuck.

The idea of creative writing only surfaced in 2022, when my husband made an unexpected discovery in the loft. Buried among the forgotten boxes was one of my old school exercise books. Inside were stories I’d written at the age of fifteen. He read them and, with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, declared that they were really rather good. I was sceptical, but he was insistent. Within fifteen minutes, he’d found an online writing course and I was signed up for it.

That was the moment that changed everything. Within three years— and with a little advice from Stephen King— my debut novel, Under the Hickory Tree, was published by The Book Guild. Even now, I sometimes pick up a copy to reassure myself it’s real. 

Becoming an author

After learning the nuts and bolts of how to create characters and tell stories, I pitched up at the first Bournemouth Writing Festival in 2023 with a complete manuscript in my bag — and no idea whatsoever about the publishing industry. I believed that agents were people you hired, and publishers were people who provided the resources to lick a promising manuscript into shape. I also believed the hard part was writing the book. How wrong could I have been?

The festival was a revelation. I discovered just how complex and opaque the process of getting your words out there can be, and that there were multiple routes to publication, each with its own challenges.

As a complete novice, I wanted someone to hold my hand through the process the first time around. Self-publishing felt like too big a leap, while I found the agent submission process both time-consuming and soul-destroying. So I chose a middle path and approached The Book Guild, whose presentation I’d seen at the festival. I developed sudden-onset leaky-eye syndrome the day the letter arrived in 2024 with their offer. 

Why I don’t write crime

Under the Hickory Tree was published in June 2025. It’s an epic, transatlantic, multi-generational adventure, rooted in my love of genealogy and the secrets of the past. People often ask why, after thirty years in policing, I don’t write crime novels. The answer is simple. I’ve had enough of crime.

Real crime isn’t entertaining, and real criminals are not intriguing. Having been exposed to the reality of crime for thirty years, I prefer to write stories with a message of hope. It’s something I believe we could all do with more of. 

A second career

Seeing my first book in print was a significant milestone, but it wasn’t the end of the journey. If anything, it marked the beginning of my transition from ‘former cop’ to ‘author’ — a new identity involving not just writing, but becoming part of the broader world of books. Through courses, festivals and writers’ groups, I’ve found a tribe of like-minded, generous and genuinely supportive people: people who understand the peculiar challenges of writing, who willingly share their experiences, and who are always ready to talk about the things that matter to us. I used to think policing was about teamwork and writing was a solitary endeavour. I know differently now.

Looking back, writing was not an obvious choice. It wasn’t something I had planned or even seriously considered. And yet it has become the most meaningful of all the creative pursuits I experimented with after retirement.

I set out looking for a hobby. I found a second career, a new community, and a different way of thinking that continues to challenge me. You could say I am my own Work In Progress.