Hello

I was the delighted winner of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) short story competition 2023.

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I studied primary education at Edinburgh University, graduating with honours in 1996. As soon as I graduated, I packed everything I owned into my Renault 11, including my daughter, two dogs and a cat, and headed off to Estonia to become an international school teacher.

 

After fifteen years of teaching, predominantly in Eastern Europe, I became ill and had to return home. Unable to work, but not one to remain idle, I turned to the Open University where I studied creative writing, completing both courses with distinction, and discovering a new passion. Writing is what I do, and I love it!

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I find it difficult to be content without a work in progress. That escape into a world of my own making is something very special!  

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I live on the east coast of Scotland and have written four books under the pen name of F J Curlew.

I have now reverted to using my given name.

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My writing has been described as, "Human experience impacted upon by political situation, interwoven with a love of nature." That pretty much sums my writing up!