The Assassin's Wife (69 page)

Books loomed large in my life from as long as I can remember and school reinforced my pleasure in them. Never will I forget Mr Harriman's rendering of Buchan’s “The Thirty-Nine Steps”! These teachers influenced my developing talent as a writer as much with their personalities as their teaching methods from the mysterious Mr Tindall in his pinstriped suit and his catch-phrase “By Jingo!” to the gentle Mr Wright who moved us with tales of John Keats as a young doctor. All were striking characters.

From Old Clee I moved to Wintringham Girls’ Grammar School. Here, feisty Miss Chalk continued to foster my love of literature as we studied for A levels. And walking back and forth to school each day, I entertained my friends with the most terrible serials I’d written!

But I wanted to act.

This passion for drama drove me to the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow.

After a long period of unemployment, however, I decided I must give up my dream of working in the theatre and start earning. Enrolling on a crash course in English at Bishop Grosseteste College in Lincoln led to a career in teaching where my theatrical experience proved invaluable.

But most of all, it coloured my writing.