My passion for writing started as a teenager growing up in foster care. I lived with great foster parents, but due to my experiences, and the big age difference between me and the other children in the family, I often felt a sense of loneliness. In the solitude of my bedroom, I started to create characters on paper that helped me to feel less alone.
I’m a huge advocate of writing for anyone going through loneliness, loss and grief – or suffering in some way. When you’re feeling isolated, writing is a form of expression and a safe place to release negative emotions. I believe it can be especially powerful for children in care as throughout their lives, they may not always be in a safe place physically, and writing gives them a space where they can make their own rules.
I like to use some of my experiences in my own storytelling. My most recent book Orphan Sisters, focuses on three black children’s experiences of the care system. Although it’s set long before my time (in the 1950s and 60s) there is a little bit of me in that book as well as the other novels I have written. There always seems to be a running theme of loss and families that are different to the ‘norm’.
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