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You’re not alone — many people arrive with a sense of longing to write, but without knowing exactly where to begin. If you’re unsure where to begin, start by noticing what you’re craving right now. Do you want a gentle nudge to begin writing again? A safe space to show up regularly? Deep craft support? Or a nourishing retreat to refill your creative well?

Here’s a simple guide:

1. Wanting to dip your toe into writing for wellbeing? Begin with my free masterclass Writing to Soothe Anxiety.
2. Longing for community and momentum? Write!Club is your monthly grounding space for practice and connection.
3. Want personalised guidance? My 1:1 bespoke retreats in York may be your space.

If you’d like help choosing, just reach out—I’d love to guide you.

Yes. I offer deeply personalised 1:1 support through bespoke writing retreats in York as well as limited mentoring and developmental editing spaces online. These sessions are spacious, attentive, and tailored to your wellbeing and your writing goals—whether that’s finding your voice, tending to your creativity, or shaping a project.
 If you’re curious, feel free to message me and we can explore what you need.

Yes — I run in-person retreats throughout the year. These are spacious, restorative experiences designed to help you reconnect with your creativity, find calm and flow, deepen your writing practice and/ or work towards a specific goal. You can find out about the latest retreat dates and sign-up details on my Retreats page. I also offer self-paced expereinces and online retreats inside my membership WRITE! Club.

Of course! Just send me a message with your question and I’ll get back to you. I'd like to help you to get clear about what you need and how I can best support you.

Yes, I can help you with the technical craft of writing or support you with your current writing project through online mentoring, developmental editing and my personalised 1:1 retreats. These retreats are designed around your specific needs and aspirations.

Yes – I would love to! You don’t need experience to begin. Many of the writers I support are complete beginners, returning writers, or people who were unsure about their own creativity. I’ll meet you exactly where you are.

I would love for you to jump over to the Feeling Planet website to find out more. This is work in partnership with the University of British Columbia (UBC) and includes a developing toolkit drawing on creative techniques to help us to explore the climate emotions that can help or prevent us from taking meaningful climate action.

You can read my published novels here, or jump on over to the blog where I share reflections, prompts, and personal writings. Or let me send you my free Friday newsletter, 'Three things for your creative resistance' where I share writing inspiration, reading recommendations and more!

I’m a bestselling novelist, prize-winning teacher, poet, and Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Teesside University. I’ve spent over twenty-five years designing and leading courses, workshops and writing communities, online and in person, for universities, businesses, voluntary organisations and in the community. 

I draw on many different modalities and disciplines. I studied English Language at the University of Edinburgh (MA Hons) and then worked for Reuters for a number of years, where I developed some of the first professional online learning programmes in the world.

In 2001, I received full Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding for my doctoral research and became a student of Dr Celia Hunt, a pioneer of writing and wellbeing, at the University of Sussex. My PhD thesis, Writing the body: Ways to facilitate a felt, bodily sense of self, developed a model for writing in education and health care settings.

I am a certified Mind-Body Coach (The Embody Lab), a certified clinical hypnotherapist, and I’ve also trained in somatics, yoga nidra, mindfulness, Emotional Freedom Technique and psychodynamic approaches. l’ve trained and mentored students in a number of medical schools and psychiatric institutions in mind-body and creative therapeutic tools and ways of working.

Yes. Deeply, intentionally, wholeheartedly. Write!Club and all my offerings welcome writers of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences. I aim to create a nurturing, accessible, shame-free space where your truth, your body, your feelings, and your voice are honoured. You belong here.