2023 was another great year for events, taking me from Glasgow and Newcastle crime festivals to libraries across Oxfordshire and Surrey. Read on to find out what I got up to!

NEWCASTLE NOIR
Saturday 6th December, Newcastle City Library

It was fabulous to return to the Toon for this crime fiction lovers’ festival, Newcastle Noir.

I was on the Criminal Visions panel with fabulous fellow authors Paul Hardisty and Sarah Sultoon. We delved into the chilling visions behind our thrillers and the role fiction can play in portraying all-too-possible futures. The picture below was taken with fellow authors Emma Christie, Suzy Aspley and Newcastle Noir host, Jacky Collins, the doctor of noir!

AUTUMN TALKS AT OXFORDSHIRE LIBRARIES
Carterton, Abingdon, Headington and Faringdon

I gave several talks at Oxfordshire libraries in the autumn about my latest thriller, ONE, and the research and inspiration behind all my books.
It was wonderful to meet the volunteers and staff at our libraries and get to chat with new readers and also local bookshops who supported the events.
Thanks so much to everyone who came along and to the libraries for hosting me!

Carterton Library, Thursday October 19th
I had such a lovely evening being interviewed by the lovely Holly who grilled me about my books and the research and inspiration behind my dystopian worlds.
Huge thanks to Holly, Andrew and Helen from the library and also Mad Hatter Bookshop for supplying the books!

Abingdon Library, Thursday 9th November
Thanks to everyone who braved the rain on a very autumnal night to come to Abingdon Library where we discussed the increasingly blurred boundaries between real life events and those in my near future worlds. It was a great event, and huge thanks to Jess and all the library staff for hosting and to Mostly Books for supplying copies for signing.

EWELL LIBRARY TALK
Friday September 29th

I really enjoyed my talk at Ewell Library who made me feel so welcome and Will Davies was a superb interviewer and host. It was the first time I’d done a talk in front of a class: the English sixth form from Blenheim High School came to listen and having studyied Orwell’s 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, they were certainly well informed on all things dystopian!
They asked such brilliant questions.

My first event with Surrey Libraries, I certainly hope it won’t be the last.

LOCAL LAUNCH OF ONE: WATERSTONES WITNEY
Thursday, 20th July

We had such a blast at the local launch of ONE on my publication day!
The amazing team at Waterstones Witney, led by Patty & Gem did me proud.
I did a couple of readings, fielded probing questions from Patty & Gem and it was wonderful to see so many people there.
Thanks to everyone who came, and bought a book, I really hope you enjoyed the evening!

LONDON LAUNCH OF ONE: GOLDSBORO BOOKS
Tuesday 11th July, Leicester Square, London

I had my very first official book launch on the 11th July at the stunning Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court, off Leicester Square: some say the true inspiration for Diagon Alley!
Even though ONE is my third book, this was the first time we were able to bring friends, family, authors, publishers and bloggers together in London because the Covid pandemic put paid to previous launch plans.
We were blessed with good weather and so made full use of Cecil Court. I made a small speech of thanks, and Karen, my publisher at Orenda Books said some very lovely things, and even made cupcakes with the book cover for ONE and another author, who had her launch the same night.
I want to thank everyone who came and made it such a special night: it was all I had hoped it would be, and so lovely to bring such a great group of people together!

WITNEY RADIO INTERVIEW ABOUT ONE
Friday 14th July

I had such a blast talking to Grant at Witney Radio about my new thriller, One, and my other novels.
He asked some great questions, and we got right into the science and issues behind the books, and what drives the plots and why on earth I write about such dark themes!
He also asked about what brought me into writing and how I started my author journey.
The interview was broadcast on Friday 14th July, but if you missed it, you can catch it on MixCloud via the link here.
If you don’t already listen, the station broadcasts on 99.9 FM in the Witney area, 105.3 FM in Eynsham, 90.2 FM in Woodstock , 107.1 in Faringdon and 107.4 FM in the Chipping Norton area or you can stream it straight from their website here.

BEACONLIT BOOK FESTIVAL: DOCTOR! DOCTOR!
Saturday 8th July, Ivinghoe

I had such a lovely time at BeaconLit discussing medical thrillers and disturbing near futures with fellow crime writers Annie Payne (The Doctor) and Heather Fitt (The Flight), moderated by Morgen Bailey. We had great discussions about the ideas and experiences that inform our thrillers and our different approaches to portraying nailbiting medical dilemmas and there were some fabulous questions from the audience too.

Huge thanks to Dave Sivers and all the volunteers at the festival and Our Bookshop Tring for supplying the books!

CRIMEFEST: SCIENCE FACT AND SCIENCE FICTION
Friday 12th May, The Mercure Bristol Grand

I had a fabulous time moderating the panel: Science Fact & Science Fiction.
Joining me for discussions about the dark science that populates our thrillers were crime writers David Beckler (A Stolen Memory) Heather Fitt (The Flight) Andrew Hunter Murray (The Sanctuary) and Nicola Monaghan ( Dead Flowers).

We talked about how we use science to influence our plots and writing, what research we do to get our inspiration and the frightening glimpses into possible futures portrayed in our thrillers.
We covered everything from memory manipulation to genetic tinkering to visionary billionaires whose pet projects go astray… Thanks to everyone who came, I’m looking forward to next year’s festival already!

AYE WRITE: PRESCIENT CLIMATE THRILLERS
Friday 26th May, 6.00 pm, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

It was wonderful heading back to Glasgow where I appeared at Aye Write for the very first time to discuss my new speculative thriller set in climate emergency Britain, ONE. Chaired by the fabulous Zoe Venditozzi, Todd Westbrook and I discussed how climate change has inspired the plot for our dystopian thrillers and why we decided to make the climate crisis a key feature of our novels.
We covered some other dark themes, including the one-child policy, corrupt regimes and how we incorporate big ideas in our books whilst maintaining pace to keep those pages turning!
Todd’s book S6 follows reporter RB McGehee who is entangled in a desperate race against time to solve the riddle of what happened to the experimental drilling platform Sligachan 6: he visits oil companies, government offices and whistle-blowers but closed doors turn to violent responses the closer McGehee gets to the truth: it’s a great read.