I had a great time this weekend running a Masterclass for RCT Writing Squad .
It was fab to be with a group of young writers who were so enthusiastic about reading and telling their own stories.
We used news stories and elements from our own lives to come up with some weird and wonderful fiction.
Photographs courtesy of Lucy Mohan
Things I Learned While I Was Dead published on 17th July 2025, although copies were spotted out in the wild earlier. The launch party was held at the fabulous Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, in Bath, on 22nd July.
I’m not really a party-thrower-type, but this book has been nine years in the making, and so much work has gone into its creation that I felt it deserved to be celebrated! I also wanted to thank everyone who has supported me on this long and undulating journey to publication.
It was lovely to share the evening with friends, family, writers, creatives, authors, publishing people, booksellers, teachers, librarians. The bookshop was packed.
Lots of people have supported me on this journey, sometimes without even knowing they were helping me to find my confidence and throw off the insecurity that all creatives have. And it was so nice to be there with them all in such a warm, positive environment.
It was great to be able to thank everyone involved and talk about what I hope readers will take from the book. Which is basically this:
Let’s worry less about what other people look like, or what they wear, or what they have in their pants, or what they believe, or who they love, and instead let’s focus on looking after each other and this planet we call home.
