Well, it’s finally happened. I can hardly believe it. My debut novel, The Waiting Rooms, will be published next July.

Woohoo! It still feels a little unreal. As if I’ve just been notified that I’ve won the lottery: I’m not sure if it’s some kind of phishing scam or joke. Like most new writers, the journey to publication has not been straightforward. But it has trained me well in the art of resilience.

I write speculative fiction, which basically means ‘what if …?’ stories: curious slants on the familiar, mainly about the things that scare me. I attribute this love of all things dark and dystopian to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and black-and-white Edgar Allen Poe double bills.

In this world of questionable facts, stats and news, I believe storytelling is more important than ever to engage people in real life issues, in meaningful ways.