About Me
I’ve been in love with words since always. I preferred books to parties as a child and once threw a tantrum when an adult tried to tear me away from The Lord of the Rings and make me play pass-the-parcel. My English teacher encouraged me to write my first novel in high school. I studied media at college – and at night wrote gig reviews for a local newspaper, and journalism at university.
Words are powerful, that’s why they’re used in magic. Magic works wonders, it can hold you spellbound, it can focus your attention, and it’s why a well-written article can enchant all who read it.
Words carry meaning; they tell stories and inspire people. They can entertain, educate and inform. Words can tell your story, or define and sell your brand, generate new ideas, and even help you to grow, develop and expand.
But, words can also be tricky buggers. They can tell lies, cloud opinion, and even change meaning over time. They can fall flat, leaving you becalmed without a wind in your sail. Which is why words need to be wrought by capable hands.
They say that a picture paints a thousand words. But, just think what you could do with a thousand words. A thousand words could define your business, change a mind, promote an interest, increase your readership, and so much more.
‘They’ also say that the pen is mightier than the sword. But, that really depends on what result you are after. If you want an interesting feature for your magazine, enticing, Google-friendly copy for your website, or a straight-up factual article for your newsletter, then the pen, or the keyboard, is indeed mightier. But, if you want to cleave someone in two, or get a person to part with their valuables, pronto, then it’s swords.
Swords will do it every time.
I won’t wield a sword, but I will paint you a picture to order. Only, I’ll paint it with lots and lots of lovely, powerful words. Not necessarily a thousand, I hasten to add, but only as many as you want.
I can turn my hand to any topic and, in my time, have produced copy for companies and publications as diverse as Time Out, The Face, Ministry, The British Video Association, Gala Bingo, Transpennine Express, Unichem Chemists, The Sun, HOSPA, Metro, New Dog PR, and more. I spent more than 10 years working in customer and contract publishing as well as mainstream print media.
I’m also the author of four books: The Ultimate Stag Night Kit, from Chrysalis Books (that came with a free inflatable sheep and yes, it had a hole in it); The Gola Years (a celebration of the centenary of the British sports brand) that also came via Chrysalis and, more recently, The Four Thoughts That F*ck You Up . . . and how to fix them (Penguin Random House) and How to Cope with Almost Anything with Hypnotherapy (Bloomsbury).
I’m a fully trained and experienced psychotherapist (click here to find out more about that) and can (and do) provide copy, workshops, and webinars on all aspects of mental health and wellbeing. I have a regular column over at the US media organisation Psychology Today. Many of my features make it on to their essential news list and are read around the world.
However, please don’t let the mental health experience cloud your judgement, as I can turn my hand to a wide range of subjects and write in a dazzling variety of styles. I have a portfolio of work for you to peruse (click here).
Before the written word there was only thought: pure, unbridled thought. And it was the thought that gave rise to language.
So, just think what words I could weave for you.