A bit about me

Hellooooo. Thanks for popping by. I swim rivers, lakes and seas in my mermaid tail to raise awareness about environmental issues, then turn my stories into kids books and shows packed with lots of silly songs. It’s the best job in the world. I love hearing kids roar like dinosaurs on helium at my jokes and stories. You might catch me speaking at your school, festivals like Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe or corporate companies like Uber where I try to remember to brush my hair to blend in.

Ironically, I don’t actually like mermaids. I was a Tomboy growing up and mermaids were not cool! I was more of a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles fan. I never expected to be a writer and despite getting an A in A Level Art, I didn’t pursue it after school because a teacher told me there’s no jobs in it. So I certainly didn’t think I’d be illustrating books. It just sort of all happened organically. If you’re not in a hurry and you can find out how it all happened below.

It all started with…

…mud sliding at a festival in Australia, where it wasn’t very muddy and I inevitably broke my ankle- 2 plates, 9 pins (I now have one very fat ankle!) A few months later, back on the backpacker trail, I received a call from home. My dad had suddenly died.

I turned to self harm to deal with the grief. An accident gave me a wakeup call and I signed up to the London Triathlon to distract myself, vowing never to harm myself again. Each night I got back from work, I’d get out on my bike but struggled with the hills. I threw my bike down and wondered how I’d ever get round the triathlon. Then, I thought about Molly Craig from The Rabbit Proof Fence- one of the many books I read, laid up with my broken leg a few months before. Thinking of her inspired me to get up that hill.

I felt euphoric crossing the triathlon finish line, so cycled to Paris a month later. Next, I cycled the length of Britain and the following year I scaled the African continent to make the World Cup. Adventure became my medicine and I loved travelling by human power. I rollerskated to far flung places and ran across the country to see friends. Each time I struggled, I thought about Molly Craig. She was my beacon of inspiration.

in 2016 I returned to Australia to pay homage to Molly and walked 1000 miles alone retracing her journey following the Rabbit Proof Fence. By the time, I finished the world was in turmoil. I didn’t want to go home. I went to Bali to free dive, where I cut my hand on a sharp bit of plastic. I saw more plastic in the Indian Ocean than I did fish. Spooling through social media that night, I spotted some free divers wear MERMAID tails and BOOM- I finally got excited about returning home because I was going to swim the length of the River Thames as a mermaid, to raise awareness about the plastic pandemic.

Along the way, I rescued a drowning cow and ended up on page 3 (fully wet suited) of a national tabloid. A school asked me for my permission to turn my story into their school play. So, I turned it into a kids book- The Mermaid and the Cow. I discovered that kids love mermaids and being one was a great tool to talk to them about important environmental topics in a fun, engaging way.

I get to marry my love of adventure, the environment and storytelling for a living. So, I suppose mermaids are cooler than I thought!

Past Adventures

2018- Urban Mermaid- swimming the length of the River Thames, as a mermaid, raising awareness about plastic pollution

2017 - Truck Tales - circumnavigating Australia with Truck Drivers

2016 - Walking the Rabbit Proof Fence

2014 - To Bude in the Nude- rollerskating to Bude in a nude suit, because it rhymed

2013 - Je Parle Franglais en skates - Rollerskating to Paris whilst learning French

2013 - Running with Kenyans - Turned 30 and I wanted to run a sub 3.0hr marathon.

2012 - Runkulele - 250 mile run to Manchester playing the ukulele (live on the radio each night)