At home in my kitchen where the magic happens!
If you are interested in learning a little bit more about me, here are some of the things that went into making me the sort of writer I am today. I was born and raised in London, England, where I spent a rich, fantasy filled childhood developing a love of good books. One of my favorites was The Little White Horse by Elisabeth Goudge which I vividly remember reading under my desk during math class. There are some wonderful descriptions of food in this book and I still want to eat sticky parkin and bread and honey every time I reread it!
I was lucky enough to spend most of my summers in the Scottish Highlands, enjoying picnic teas by our loch, and searching for faeries on the moors. Scotland is a magical place for anyone with a vivid imagination and some of my happiest times occurred here. Both of my parents were fantastic storytellers and they would take it in turns to entertain my brother and sister and me on the long car journeys up to Scotland. By second grade I had discovered how much fun writing down my own stories could be, although due to my absolutely terrible spelling I was the only person able to read them. This did not deter me at all, and my passion for writing continued to grow, along with my passion for baking. One of my earliest memories is sitting on the kitchen counter, waving a wooden spoon about, ‘helping’ my mum cook. I can still remember the smell of lemon cake, warm and fresh from the oven. After that it was only a matter of time before I began experimenting in the kitchen, although to begin with the results did not always match my enthusiasm. A batch of really disgusting rock hard, dough balls still lives on in my family’s memory!
Sampling a cookie at age two!
At an early age I knew I wanted to be either a writer, an adventurer or open a fancy teashop. So I did a little bit of everything, traveling to America where I ran The Tea House bed and breakfast and wowed guests with my grandmother’s shortbread recipe. I also wrote a series of children’s stories that were broadcast live on radio. Along the way I met my biggest passion in life and decided right away to marry him.
I now live in Deerfield, Massachusetts with my husband Jon, my four fabulous children, and a magical stone goose. These days I can nearly always be found in my kitchen baking teatime treats and cooking up new stories. Oh, and I’m extremely grateful for the invention of spell check!
I now live in Deerfield, Massachusetts with my husband Jon, my four fabulous children, and a magical stone goose. These days I can nearly always be found in my kitchen baking teatime treats and cooking up new stories. Oh, and I’m extremely grateful for the invention of spell check!
Trying to clap my hands at six months old!
I was interviewed by Jama Rattigan for her wonderful blog Jama's Alphabet Soup. You can learn more about me if you click on the link above.