I was born in Oldham in 1946. It wasn't until Covid 19 struck and we were forced to spend long days in isolation, that I finally got down to some serious writing. To my surprise, as I began my first novel, Karma; A Mystery in Paris, the words flowed easily and the plot kind of developed a life of its own. As I brought my characters to life on my computer screen, they began to act out the story quite outside my control. It was a kind of magic! I enjoyed the experience so much that I was soon creating my second novel, Secrets and Lives, a domestic thriller based in the beautifuly city of Bath. I am fascinated by the way decisions taken with the best of intentions, can have unintended and sometimes tragic consequences that often resonate down the generations.

Speaking of generations, my third novel, Coalbrookdale has been rather longer in gestation. The concept began to form in my mind many years ago when I discovered a connection between my family and pivotal events at the very beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Many books have been written about Coalbrookdale and the importance of the work of Abraham Darby in the 18th Century, and of course the whole area around Ironbridge and the Severn Gorge has been designated as a World Heritage Site. As I visited the site over the years, I began to imagine what life would have been like for my ancestors, in particular Joseph Bangham. Records show that he worked for the Darbys in their furnaces. Of course, my novel Coalbrookdale is a work of ficiton, however, I hope it adds a new perspective to the story of the Gorge, being about an ordinary family living at this extraordinary time of great change.

Over the course of the next two centuries my family, as so many others, migrated from rural Shropshire to the industrial towns of the north of England. I intend to trace their journey in two more novels, over the next couple of years, which will hopefully become 'The Bangham Trilogy'.

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