I have lived in the West Country all my life, but never in such a remote place as I do now – in the middle of a wood, with my partner, Jim and rather a lot of rooks, bats, dogs and chickens.

Many of my ideas for stories come from the tales I’ve been told and the experiences I’ve collected over time, including from my jobs as a youth worker and looking after animals in a wildlife park.

My first full length book, ‘Strays and Relations’, is rather different: it’s a fictionalised account of how I found and got to know my birth family, so the incidents – both the funny ones and the tricky ones – are real.

Writing ‘Strays’ has given me a lot of pleasure (apart from the ‘writers’ block’ days!). If you read it, I do hope it gives you pleasure too.

Very best wishes…  Dizzy