About Me

What is there to say about me? Well, the K stands for Karen. Mum thought it sounded Christmassy. I was born late morning on New Year’s Eve 1970, and no, I couldn’t wait till midnight like the doctors wanted. I’ve always lacked patience. Besides, 70 is a good round number.

I was born and raised in the East End of London, in other words, weaned on pie mash. NB. We don’t say pie and mash, nor pie n mash. It’s pie mash. It’s also eaten with a fork and a spoon. Hey, we like to be different. It’s neither here nor there to me anymore, as I’m now a veggie.

I currently live a boring suburban life in Essex. It’s not for everyone. Not me, anyway. I have dreams of a cottage by the sea, which, again, is not for everyone. But it is for me.

I gravitate towards anything considered weird. I blame my dad. His bedtime stories were all a bit Tales of the Unexpected, and when he drew pictures for me, they would be of churchyards and graves. I still doodle graveyards to this day. I think Dad might have been a druid in a previous life. He loves a good story and sees magic everywhere. His mum was psychic. This may explain a few things. My mum, on the other hand, prefers the more logical outlook on life. If she can’t see it, she won’t believe it. My parents are cornflakes and milk. Very different, but work well together.

I have a grown-up daughter who has a neurodivergent brain, a skill for drawing, and a master’s degree. She’s smarter than me, so she says, and likes to teach me new stuff. For example, don’t make decisions after midnight, and don’t argue with people on Twitter. Perhaps I shouldn’t get wet either, but that might be because I have many crystals and candles and I talk to the moon.

Maybe I should mention I’m an author, seeing as where we are. Why did I start writing? I hear you ask. Well, I don’t know. It’s very much a part of me, like my liver. We could just blame my dad again.

I published my first book back in 2018. It’s called The Focus Program. It’s a thought-provoking thriller about mental illness that I didn’t know I was going to write back in 2015, which wasn’t exactly my best year. If you read the book, you’ll understand why.

My favourite thing to write is romance. Sigh! I hear from some. Hey, there is nothing wrong with love. The world needs more of the stuff. Our planet certainly does. Plus, there is something immensely comforting in feeling all warm and fuzzy, and love tends to do that to you. So, you can say what you like about romance. It sparks joy for many, except for Heathcliff. It kind of drove him insane. The dark side to love is people, not love itself. Yes, I know he wasn’t real, but there are many like him. Lost wanderers, forever seeking their soulmate in all the wrong places, then feeling baffled as to why they are living in such a state of misery. Your soulmate exists. Believe in this. Throw your energy out to the universe to attract The One. Okay, maybe that’s not for everyone. You could try speed-dating down your local boozer.

There’s not much else to say except, my favourite song is “The House of the Rising Sun”, I can understand the Clangers, and Die Hard is not just for Christmas, it’s for life.