Recently I have been awarded a £5,000 grant from Creative Scotland to write my first ever novel.

Creative Scotland are the public body that supports the arts and creative industries across Scotland and distributes funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. And this is a real honour.

I’ll be starting work on the novel in September and aim to have a first draft completed within a year. The novel will explore themes of queerness, escape, domestic abuse and coercive control. The working title for this book is THE THINGS WE DO TO OTHERS.

Who knows when, or even if, this novel might make its way out in to the world. But I’m looking forward to the challenge of drafting a form of writing I’ve never attempted before. And I’m grateful to have received this grant which will now help to give me the time and opportunity to commit to the research, planning and initial drafting of this book.