My inspiration to write stems from my ability to empathise with individuals caught up in traumatic circumstances of the past. Writing for me is a compulsion. My imagination allows me to step into the shoes of fictional but true-to-life people and situations. As the author of seven historical novels to date, and an anthology of poems, my focus has been around British historical events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ranging from my debut novel, the Sea Inside His head – which is set during the 1984 National Miners’ Strike – to the more recent trilogy: The Guernsey Wartime Family Sagas. This trilogy is set during the five years of German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. This is a richly factual, well-researched but fictional portrayal of the danger encountered by a young woman who harbours an escaped Polish prisoner-of-war. They fall in love but with their lives in danger, a future together looks bleak.

            Currently I am embarking on a new exciting novel as I research the background behind the Impressionist artists in 19th Century Paris, and particularly Pierre-August Renoir. Renoir’s impoverished struggle for recognition in the art world portrayed a darker side to the brilliantly colourful and joyful paintings he created. Often secretive, Renoir joined his fellow painters in turning the traditional art world upside down by exhibiting pictures that were condemned as “slap-dash” and even “unfinished”. Competing with the comparatively new novelty of photography, Renoir accepted commissions from wealthy families to paint flattering portraits which were not exactly realistic, but which enabled him to at least pay the rent. However, when submitting his Impressionistic works to the Salon in Paris, these were constantly ridiculed and rejected. This new novel is a fascinating area of work for me, especially as I grew up in an artistic household. My late father was an artist struggling for recognition in London, and I know the angst involved, the ups and downs of reviews and the much valued but dreaded opinions of art critics. But new movements in the art world are often controversial are they not? Time moves on and progress usually means the old ways fall out of favour.