Bob Dylan asked, “What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” In Bob’s eyes, I guess I can consider myself a success; I spend many of my waking hours doing what I want to do – writing.
British born, I now live in the Achterhoek in the Netherlands, which literally translates to the ‘back corner’. Do with that as you will. I live with my Dutch husband, three Dutch/British tinged sons, two cats and two rabbits. The Netherlands has been my home since 2000, and living immersed in the Dutch language now means I also translate texts from Dutch to English to earn a living.
But back to the writing a minute, I have contributed to three anthologies:
I have also written two books specifically for highly sensitive children:
- 101 Ways to Help your Highly Sensitive Child Empty Their Bucket
- How to Raise a Happy Sensitive Child
Before life as a writer I dabbled in Human Resources in multinational companies. Whilst my former life in HR was a fascinating way of getting insight into people, their motivations and how they face problems, it presented me with too few opportunities to use the full contents of my creative toolbox. Re-evaluating my career during my first pregnancy, I came to the realisation that the elements I did enjoy revolved around stringing words into useful sentences; policy guides, employee handbooks, text for department websites, newsletters, handbooks and staff communications.
Career paths are never straight; I once had a temp job helping stranded lorry drivers source new tyres in France, before moving on to learn everything you could ever hope to know about bicycle tyres. And today I write and translate.
I am an avid football supporter and can often be found offering encouragement to my son’s pitch side in the freezing cold early on a Saturday morning. The rest of the week I can be found writing or turning Dutch words into English words. Head over to my home page for examples of writing services I offer, or to my translation page (in Dutch) for information about translation services, or get in touch below.