“Your dreams can come true. You just need to write them…”
Age seven, I folded eight sheets of paper in half and scribbled my first book into existence. It was about a sheep who wanted to leave the pen and explore the world. I think I’ve been writing the same story ever since.
By fourteen, I submitted my first manuscript to agents. I’d written my first full-length, young adult manuscript, and thought that was all you needed to do to be published. I wrote three more books before I went to university. I spent endless hours on writing sites, exchanging critiques and unknowingly building the foundations of both my craft as a writer and my analytical skills as a developmental editor. Writes sought me out from other writing sites to give feedback on their chapters, even offering to hire me. I might not have been writing bestsellers, but I seemed to have an instinct for helping others to succeed.
During my A levels, I studied dystopian fiction and fell in love. My coursework was a bit naff! It got me the grades I needed, but it wasn’t until I started my Psychology degree at the University of Birmingham that I wrote THE CLEARING. I’d read a lot of dystopian fiction and young adult fantasy, and I had something to say, mixing my critique of the two together in a book that ends on a killer twist.
It topped the chart on writing sites that don’t exist anymore, won a #NestPitch pitching event in 2015, and received 5 agent requests. It took a few more years (and a few more manuscripts) before it finally found a home. I even had another manuscript get chosen for #WriteMentor. My writing journey has been anything straightforward.
I’m now nine manuscripts into my career with DEAD MAGICAL. This latest book is incredibly dear to me, holding within its pages a mix of tragedy, healing, and beautiful empowerment. The feedback has been overwhelming, and I finally sent it to agents this June 2026. I’m pleased to say I’ve already had interest!
But becoming a full time author isn’t about writing that one book. So I’m drafting another while plotting an outline for the one after that.
And I won’t stop there!
I’m doing this for the little girl who, at age seven, wrote as many books as she could on the paper her dad pinched from work. I’m also doing this for my very young kids who have already fallen in love with books. Their dreams are starting to form, and I want to let them know they can come true. You just need to write them.
Check out my new website to support DEAD MAGICAL: Scookiereviews.co.uk
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