Big moment for me! Big Moment!Massive! 😄🎉
I had an email earlier this week to say my book ‘No Way Home’ was in Waterstones! My actual book in a real high street bookshop!
So,I just had to go and see for myself and sure enough….there it was and is; signed by yours truly and on the shelf!
I don’t know if the penny has dropped or something but this feels a little bit special-the cherry on top 🍒
I am so grateful to everyone who helped me get to this point and to all the people who have bought and read a copy.
Thank you,thank you,thank you. 🙏🏻😊

’No Diary’ is my response to the surprise find of a the drab, brown notebook, the back cover missing, in the bottom of mum’s wardrobe.I was clearing mum’s house with my siblings when it came to light and was almost discarded there and then! Imagine! Flicking through...

A fantastic afternoon in St. Peter’s Hall, Leamington Spa for the live launch of ‘No Way Home’. Friends and family enjoyed hearing some historical context, watching video clips of restored 1939 cine film, listening to excerpts from the book and some poems I’d been...

“My German aunt’s diary (Tagebuch) decorated by hand and full of postcards,letters, cuttings, maps, and travel permits, written in handwriting impossible to read, was the inspiration for ‘No Way Home’. My mum’s diary, on the other hand, was a drab, brown notebook detailing her experiences during 1945, written in tiny writing on days when there were moments of calm. The translation of these diaries forms the basis of the book.”

“Precious finds within diary pages – A birthday card for my mum’s 18th birthday, November 1944, made by my Tante Ursula, using pressed flowers, ribbon and calligraphy. At the time, my mum was away from home, already at the Wahrenbrück work camp, and the postal service, all but non-existent, so this thoughtfully crafted card was never sent.”

“The focus and discipline needed to make progress in my writing journey was overwhelming at times.Ironically, I wrote this poem, ‘Hand to Hold’ whilst feeling emotional and stuck, having struggled with the translation of several pages in my aunt’s diary.”

“I wrote this poem over several months, beginning by recording my thoughts on how often ‘lines’ appear as part of our everyday lives, whilst on a walk. When writing ‘No Way Home’, the theme of ‘lines’ occurred again; this time in conflict and war. As you can hear, the poem ‘Lines’ moves from the innocent, everyday observation about aging to something much darker and troubling.”

“There was a moment when I was ready to chuck my iPad in the canal, such was my frustration with all things techy and trying to use MS word on an iPad. I got over it; I still have my iPad but I just hate not understanding how the tech works or what to do to make it work in the way I need. Anyone else? This poem ‘Editing’ is me walking away and talking a breath.”