Who am I?

I’m a professional writer, editor and writing blogger living in London. I’ve sold more than 4 million copies of books worldwide, although you won’t have seen my name on the covers as I ghostwrote for high-profile authors (also see Who else am I?).

I have edited for a leading literary consultancy in London and am now a freelance book doctor. Details of clients are confidential, but I am allowed to reveal that a manuscript I doctored was awarded the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012. I teach creative writing masterclasses for The Guardian newspaper in London. I’ve worked as a story consultant with the thriller publisher Inkubator Press and with the award-winning independent film maker Urszula Antoniak.

I also blog for Writers & Artists Yearbook.

Wait, wait wait wait wait. That’s all work. What about play?

I ride horses. I love stately homes, rolling countryside, radio telescopes and 1960s and 1970s design. I love the intricate studio albums of Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Can and Laurie Anderson. I love creative people and am blessed to know many whose talents amaze me. And creativity – writing and story wrangling – is my play as well as my work. I write about all that in my newsletter.

My first published novels were in the guise of other people. I’m now coming into the daylight with books of my own. I write fiction and essays about people who are haunted in unusual ways.

More about my essays here

More about my fiction here.

What’s my genre? I’ll try to explain here…

And to prove I like story every bit as much as themes, characters and language, I wrote for this:

…

I’m also an author of writing books – the Nail Your Novel series, written from my experiences mentoring other authors.

My main blog (the purple one), is my diary of writing challenges I’m tackling, both in my own work and as I guide others. On my other blog (the red one) I run an occasional series called The Undercover Soundtrack, where authors talk about using music in their creative process. Do hop over for a listen.