My desktop background, created to inspire me to get on with it
About
Historical fiction has always been my go-to genre – what’s not to love about the intersection of history and storytelling?
Bringing alive the voices of the past, taking time to listen to what they have to say, learning what we can from them – that is why I will always return to historical fiction. And this is also my aim with this novel.
I am fascinated by what the past can tell us and have been ever since I was small. All of my favoured career choices while in the last years of school are a reflection of that: archaeology (until I learned how much science you needed to study that), teaching, and writing.
And so, after a twenty-year-long career as an editor, I made the decision to step into the world of writing. Three years ago, I started working on this novel, throwing myself into it wholeheartedly and somewhat foolishly. I knew nothing of meticulous plotting (and I still err more on the side of pantsing), story structure, or how to show character development. I just knew I had a story I wanted to tell.
By learning as I went, I have developed and expanded my writing skills, but always sticking to one truth: to write what was in my heart.
Awards
Codename Charlotta
September 2026: Second place in the 2026 Yeovil Literary Prize (Novel)
Comments from the judge: “CODENAME CHARLOTTA: this Swedish historical thriller is sure-footed, dense with detail and written with the restraint that delivers proper suspense. Highly enjoyable characterisation, a central love story of satisfying complexity and a setting that informs the reader, revealing little known historical detail. Sweden and Nazi-occupied Denmark in the Second World War offer much to the curious reader, and much is delivered even in this short extract. Characters weave plausible stories about themselves only to slip up, others don’t appear where they should or do appear where they shouldn’t. Classic spy/thriller territory and handled with skill and consistent good writing. The plot is supported by a sound structure and well-constructed sense of place and time. A good book, I hope to see it published.”
August 2026: Top 100 in the BPA First Novel Award 2026
June 2026: Highly Commended in the I Am In Print writing competition - Historical Fiction
May 2026: Commended in the Marlowe and Christie Novel Prize
January 2026: A longlisting for Codename Charlotta in the inaugural Ascent Novel Prize
The Third Letter
August 2024: Finalist in the 2024 Page Turners’ Awards Writing Mentorship Award with The Third Letter
August 2023: Long-listed for the 2023 Page Turners’ Awards Writing Mentorship Award (under its previous working title: The Policy of Truth)
Beneath the Widening Sky
October 2025: Despite having paused work on the second novel (working title: Beneath the Widening Sky), it was longlisted in the 2025 Page Turners’ Awards for the Writing Award
