I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t writing. I wrote my first diary when I was six years old, and though I soon gave up on the diary idea, not returning to it until the 1980s, stories, poems and observations continually flowed from my pen. At primary school I was actively encouraged to write by my class teacher, who gave me an exercise book and told me to write ‘a novel’ as well as giving me a position of responsibility on the school newspaper. My first ‘professionally published’ work was a short piece in a magazine specialising in bird keeping, when I was thirteen years old.
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| Lecturing at the NEC |
When I left grammar school in the mid-sixties, I worked in the library of a research organisation for a while, before finding work in a college library. The latter gave me a wide understanding of many book genres, while the former introduced me to a range of technical books, causing me to realise that, literally, ‘you should never judge a book by its cover’. Even the book with the dullest of covers and the most incomprehensible of titles will provide gems of knowledge if you trouble to look.
Although still writing stories, poems and fun pieces, I didn’t attempt to get anything published until, in the mid1980s, my life changed when I purchased a small portable word processor. Immediately I realised I had the means to ‘go professional’, and, as I had always had an interest in natural history, I began to send articles to natural history magazines, notably ‘The Aquarist’, about my observations. I also contributed to Practical Fishkeeping, Reptile Keeping and Boy’s Own, investing in a good-quality camera so that I could take my own photographs to accompany my work. At the same time, I began sending my short stories to various magazines, and was soon a regular contributor to many publications, amongst them Woman’s Realm, My Weekly, Saga and Best. The majority of my stories were of the ‘Twist in the Tale’ type, often humorous, sometimes romantic, occasionally sad and covering a multitude of subjects. I was later offered a weekly column on a local newspaper to write light-heartedly about items of interest to the area, and also contributed to national newspapers on a freelance basis. I wrote my column weekly for three years. In the mid1990s, I was asked by the educational publishers, Ginn & Co. to write for their ‘Supersonics’ reading series. The resulting book was Mike’s Bike, a book in verse intended as part of an early reading scheme.
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| Appearing on Car Booty |
Another of my interests is the history of toys, dolls and small collectables, and so in the 1990s I began writing illustrated features for magazines such as Collectables, Collect It and Antiques and Collectables. Also in the1990s, I wrote my book Tiny Tears and First Love: A Celebration of Two Classic Baby Dolls, an in-depth detailed study of the variations of these dolls and their history, and which is still in demand by collectors of these iconic dolls. By now, I was a regular writer for the monthly Doll Magazine. In the 2000s, I concentrated on my work for Collect It, where I was the doll expert, as well as writing features on many varied subjects for the magazine. I also wrote for the monthly magazines Teddy Bear Times and Teddy Bear Scene, mainly about modern bears, but also covering various plush collectable toys.
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| With Eric Knowles at the launch of ARC |
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| With Eric Knowles at the launch of ARC |
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| Book signing at Kelham Hall |
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| Book signing at The Radisson Hotel, Stansted |
In 2007 I was approached by an editor from the publishing company Pen and Sword to write various titles for their new imprint, Remember When. My first book, Children’s Playground Games; From Hopscotch to Simon Says appeared in 2008. In 2009, the company published ‘British Dolls of the 1950s and its follow-up British Dolls of the 1960s. 2010 saw the publication of Collecting Classic Girls’ Toys, while The History of Girls’ Comics came out later the same year. My book Collecting Autographs, which looked at the collecting of old autograph albums and signed artefacts, was published in 2011, and Collecting Character Dolls in 2013.
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| Speaking at the Radisson Hotel, Stansted |
In 2012 two of my collections of short stories, Twisty Ends and Tangly Tales and its follow-up Twisty Ends and Tangly Tales 2 were issued on Kindle, and in 2013 the exceedingly popular novel Nelly’s Knickers appeared on Kindle. Nelly's Knickers is now available as a paperback, and my latest novel, Birds, Beasts and Ben, published 2014, is on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats.
I am a regular writer for the nostalgia and general interest magazine Best of British, as well as writing for such magazines as Postcard Monthly. I regularly take my Doll Showcase magazine to doll fairs, enjoying meeting my subscribers as well as other doll enthusiasts.
In addition I have several novels in various stages of completion, which I work on as time permits. I hope to find a literary agent soon, to spur me onwards, and am particularly keen to write for a natural history publisher, as natural history, the environment and conservation have always been of great interest to me.
MEDIA
My very first radio appearance was way back in the mid-1960s when I was interviewed by Brian Matthews on a programme called Top Gear. This was the original version - a pop programme - and I had won a competition to choose the name of the show. What a shame I didn't think to ask for royalities for that title! More recently, I have been interviewed regarding my books by numerous radio stations, amongst them Radio Cambridge, Radio Oxford and 1017. Television appearances include I Love the Seventies, I Love the Eighties and Car Booty. I also provided voice-overs & acted as specialist advisor on various shows including 100 Top Toys with Jonathan Ross. In 2003, I co-presented an hour-long live programme on QVC. My dolls have also been featured on breakfast television and on a German television network.
In addition, I have lectured at various venues, notably the NEC at the Collect It fair in 2005, and at the Radisson Hotel, Stansted, in 2008. There I spoke about the history of children’s games to an audience of head teachers.
On March 16th 2013 I was one of the guest speakers at the V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green at their ‘Teen Doll Study Day’. I took along a few of my fashion teen dolls for the event, together with a Powerpoint presentation.
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| Book signing at Barton Doll Fair |
INTERESTS
Apart from writing, my interests include natural history, photography, reading, drawing and painting, antiques and collectables, dolls and toys, various crafts, art - pre-Raphaelite and modern, visiting museums and places of interest, trawling garden centres, steam trains and anything to do with the seaside!
