Once upon a time there was a little girl who used to dream of other places peopled by strange, magical creatures. She searched through wardrobes full of fur coats, hoping to stumble upon Narnia, but when the wardrobes yielded nothing but mothballs, she started imagining her own worlds and writing stories about them.

In time, the girl grew up. She never forgot the stories of her childhood, but for a time she had a restless longing to discover the real world. She saw beautiful things, wondrous things and terrible things. In New York, she saw the towers fall, and was filled with a sadness that there could be so much evil in the world.

She returned home, fell in love, and was happy to stay in one place for a while. But after a while the longing to travel returned. Something was calling to her. It started as a whisper; it grew and grew until she could ignore it no longer. She packed her bags and went to New Zealand. In this strange, hauntingly beautiful landscape, she found a story. The story held out a hand, and said, “Follow me.” And she did.

The next chapter in my story took me to Falmouth to do an MA in Professional Writing. Since then, I’ve worked as a freelance copywriter and editor (amongst other things), written a young adult fantasy novel, The Dreamcatcher’s Apprentice, and worked on a variety of projects. I also run creative writing workshops for adults and children.

I’m now part way through an MFA at Falmouth University, where I’m exploring writing, photography and visual art. I regularly read at local literary events, like Telltales, and I’ve taken part in several festivals, including Port Eliot Festival, the Fal River Festival and the Tall Ship Regatta.

And I’m also member of 26, an organisation of wordsmiths (who do some intriguing projects) and NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education).

Reading at Telltales, Falmouth. Photo by Jay Armstrong