I believe writing fiction can often be a response to catastrophe.

I was born in the west of Scotland to a Scottish mother and Pakistani father, and graduated from Glasgow University in 1980s. My studies were disrupted by severe post-viral illness. Diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in 1983, I remain  ill today, my life impacted hugely.

My autobiographical novel The State of Me was published by an imprint of HarperCollins in 2008. The novel attempts to get the hell of the illness across with black humour and absurdity. It is my weapon against the ignorance that prevails. 

I’ve had short fiction in a range of literary magazines (links on blog) and was shortlisted for the RLS Award (2005),  the Bridport Short Story Prize (2011) and the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize (2012 & 2023).

In 2011, I appeared at Edinburgh International Book Festival’s ‘Story Shop’ for emerging writers and, in late 2012,  I featured in a BBC ALBA documentary in which I discussed my  novel and illness.

I’ve also had short non-fiction in A Book of Banished Words, edited by Nancy Campbell (Bird Editions, 2017). Am slowly working on a novella, a fictionalisation of my late father’s life – a Pakistani, jazz-loving doctor who died in tragic circumstances.

I love the quote by American graphic novelist Alison Bechdel: I can only make things up about things that have already happened.