Good books are a passport to many things: a new life, better understanding, fantastic and mysterious worlds ….. places you might never otherwise get to visit. You’ll meet real and fictional characters who you come to love or hate, whose lives and stories seep into the deepest crevices of your mind and remain there long after the last page is turned. You’ll laugh and cry, live and die with them.

Reading can open doors into whole new worlds, real and imaginary: it can take you on a journey to places deep within yourself, or to the far reaches of your imagination. It can bring laughter and tears, suspense and fear, romance and deceit, wonder and joy. I cannot imagine how my world would be had I not learned to read: a poorer place for sure. It’s never too late to learn …..

I’m thrilled when people tell me that one of my books has helped them to turn around their life, or converted even the most reluctant of readers into a fan. I’m passionate about encouraging people to read, whether they are children or adults, and I find that verse alongside images is a great way to engage the mind and fire the imagination. Mother Nature has been my inspiration in so many ways: I love to lose myself in her myriad manifestations.

Books can change your life: reading can enrich it beyond measure.

Here’s a short extract from my book ‘The Wicked Wood: Part One of The Journey‘: the verses were inspired by the twisted branches and dancing catkins on the corkscrew hazel tree in my garden:

A snake tree squirmed in tangled glee
Twisted, contorted, laughed at me,
Shivered, as through its tangled frame
An evil wind hissed out my name.

Its branches danced in frenzied whirls,
Lambs tails adorned Medusa’s curls.
I fled before the serpent’s spell
Drew me into its arms as well ……