I’m a writer, illustrator and picturebook maker. My colourful, character-led picturebooks help children build emotional resilience using words and actions, with a generous helping of joy, laughter and just a touch of magic.

I am a wife to my gorgeous husband Tom, as well as a mum and stepmum of four (two boys and two girls, my stepdaughters) and I am hugely passionate about what it is that makes us happy, emotionally fulfilled humans, and how picturebooks can help inspire tools for our emotional toolboxes from an early age.

That is me in a nutshell, but if you’re wanting to know more about the long road to writing and illustrating my books, then grab a cuppa, snuggle up, and let me tell you a story…

Once there was a girl…

Oh, ME!

I grew up all over the world, lucky enough to visit all sorts of exotic and extraordinary places with my family. I loved people-watching, scribbling and noodling away in my notebook, capturing and being captivated by characters, illustrations, rhymes and playing with words. Studying Anthropology and languages at uni, I was able to indulge all of this.

Then came a rather horrible shock: the real world. I got a job.

With little idea as to what I really wanted to do, and a lot of knowledge about a lot of things, but very little knowledge of myself, I floundered and sank for a bit. I got sad.

But then I decided enough was enough.

I decided I wasn’t going to put up with being this unhappy and unfulfilled, so I handed in my notice in a bright white envelope, bought a round the world ticket – starting in Japan and ending in Belize – and resolved to ‘study myself like a bug’ on these travels.

Armed with a pile of notebooks and pens, I set off to study human (and my own) happiness. I noted down what set my world alight: I remembered the importance of those scribbles, rhymes and doodles, I met a lot of people and asked a lot of questions, I skinny dipped in pools, rivers, lakes and seas.

This was all very well, but what the heck could I do with this information to earn a living?! I was still far too scared to declare that I wanted to make money with my words and pictures.

Somewhat reluctantly, I returned to real life, and got another job. This time though, something was different. This time I knew what made me happy. The problem was, this made me EVEN MORE frustrated.

Again, I got sad. But, this time I got resourceful…. fast.

Meanwhile, I had met the man of my dreams (in fact, he had appeared very clearly in one of those little black notebooks I had scribbled on my travels). This man was living the dream, doing something I had always secretly wanted to do myself: he had his own business.

Once the heady fog of love had cleared somewhat, and I could think a little straighter, I handed in my notice in a bright white envelope.

And started up my own swimwear company.

For five glorious (and extremely challenging) years, I produced bikinis that made women feel like gorgeous goddesses of the water. What an adventure. I loved it. But one day, unexpectedly, that honest little soul of mine that never lets me get away with being untrue to myself for too long started to whisper again: ‘Swimwear isn’t the thing, start writing and illustrating your children’s book ideas’ she crooned. I managed to successfully ignore her for a bit and distracted myself by marrying the dream man. Then, pregnant with my first baby, those whisperings became a roar I could no longer ignore: I HAD to start writing and illustrating children’s books.

I started to scribble. Three and a half years, a house move and another baby later, and there were several ideas on paper, but nothing complete.

Until, one night, a story fell straight out of my head and onto the page, fully written and illustrated between 2am-6am, with the most powerful motivator I’ve yet to discover: solving my child’s unhappiness. It was story written for my first little boy, Samuel, and it solved his nightmares OVERNIGHT.

I needed to get this book into Samuel’s hands, and hopefully other children experiencing nightmares too.

So I decided to self-publish. I’d created and sold products before, surely I could make a book! It took me a year whilst juggling the smalls, but two weeks into lockdown 2020, ‘Samuel and the Monster’ was published.

2022 saw the release of my collaboration with Saba Kia to produce ‘Penelope and Frida and the Mystery Creature’, followed by, to date, four yoga books for children, written by Louise Lynott and illustrated by me.

Creating books that bring magic moments to children and their families is the most fulfilling thing. Now to get more of my stories out in the world – there are dozens stacking up, and I can’t wait to show you what is next!

These are a few of my favourite things…