It was a dark, terrifying place a fair walk away from the house in Donegal. My brother used to go there for an adventure. I never went, and perhaps for that reason, it became even wilder in my head. Foolishly I thought if I refused to go there, its skin-tearing brambles, suffocating bracken and dark…

This morning I said out loud what most just keep to themselves, ‘I wish someone would just tell me to lie back down and they’ll take care of everything.’ Of course I got up. Sitting here at the end of most busy things, I’m reminded about something…that full-on take-over rarely happens. But. Through every tough…

My latest book, Walking in the Sun is now available for download on Kindle. Rachel is leaving all she knows to live in Nice, France for a year. When she accepts the offer of a studio in an apartment block she has no idea how much her life is going to change. Pulled into a…

Florence stared down at the tarnished key shaking in her hand. Her mother watched her, lip curled. “So that’s all he’s giving you then. Nothing else.” She spat out the last two words, tutted and left. There was a hastily scribbled note beneath the key. Here’s the key to my flat. You know the address.…

I was at one of the best weddings last weekend – it was a joyful start to a new chapter for the bride, after so much pain.  We were on the edge of the beach, close to the sea.  There was delicious food, good music and lots of happy reunions.  I noticed something though, perhaps…

Last week was a time of separation, disowning, distancing and many many words. The few that were directed towards me suggested that my mind was incapable of complex thinking, and could only manage these basic blogs I write most weeks. At one point in my life, my head was full of academic thinking, but now,…

I was at a place at the weekend that I’ve never been before. I can’t describe it to you, because almost all off it was covered in sea mist. I can tell you there were dunes, sand, and a few metres of sea, but that’s all. It was a gentle, mystical, forgiving seaside, and I…

I was at a funeral recently, and I lost my voice. That is, I was sure I was singing, but I couldn’t hear myself. Why? The male basses and tenors around me drowned me out. It’s happened before – strong voices overpowering quieter ones. The singing was great, of course, just hard to distinguish anything…

So, my daughter wrote a great story about her Brownie camp. The leader asked if she would read it out at the prize-giving ceremony tonight and she said no. I asked her why not. “I just don’t want to” was her reply. As I thought about the sheer terror of sharing my own work with…