“Fast-paced, intriguing and psychologically astute”

– Alex North, author of the whisper man

My origins are continental: a bi-racial Austrian and English parental alliance, originally in the Italian hills of Umbria, culminating in my ‘70s birth in Greenwich, London.

My (patchy) academic career led to a degree in Drama & English. I hankered after the RSC but was mainly cast as prostitutes, bimbos and drug dealers (draw your own conclusions): see Pete Cattaneo’s Screen Two film, Loved Up as the high point in my acting career. Eventually I slid behind the camera instead –an audition in which I tried to be ‘witty with a Pringle crisp’ being the final ignominious straw. Dame Judi had no competition in me.

Far happier out of the limelight, my directing career spanned MTV to documentaries and Comic Relief, allowing me to travel the world, filming oil barons in Oklahoma or Viagra merchants in Surrey (yes really), pop stars in New York or dysfunctional families looking for a fresh start in Australia – although it wasn’t all glamour: I was sworn at, punched in Amsterdam’s red light district, threatened and propositioned more than once – but it kept me on my toes. I was also busy writing features for The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian and The Telegraph.

Having my first beloved baby (hard won) in 2004 also inspired my first book LULLABY, written in a bid to stay at home with him whilst also earning a penny or two. Since then I’ve had nine novels published, by Harper Collins and Bookouture, both in the UK and internationally. I never stop writing, be it the psychological suspense thrillers that I’ve become known for, to do lists, or stage and screenplays, theatre being one of my first loves.

Until I can make my home by the sea, I live in London with my very tall partner and our tribe of kids, an old cat and Colin the dog. (He likes the cat more than the cat likes him.) I’m also a qualified and practicing Gestalt therapist, and love this side of my life: it’s all part of my fascination with, and eternal study of, human behaviour. I relish the privilege of working with clients.

Other countries I’ve been published in:

Czech Republic
France
Germany
Holland
Hungary
Italy
Israel
Norway
Mexico
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
USA