About Julia

Who do you live with?

For forty years I lived with Peter, my husband, who sadly died fourteen years ago, and our three children till they all grew up and left home.

Peter was my complete opposite but our different talents complemented each other and our marriage worked well. I’m fascinated by people. Peter loved machines of all kinds – his traction engine, his miniature steam locomotive, his Morgan sports car, his computer and mine. When it went wrong he could usually put it right. The photo here shows me driving his loco.

I live alone now, except for Penny my cat, but my grown-up children and my five grandchildren, who have inspired books like Big Red Bath and Kisses are Yuk, visit often and keep me up to date. They say my books are good but my roast dinners are excellent.

Fortunately, my son Sam is good with computers, just like his dad, and he visits me a lot. He has created this website and helps me keep it up to date.

Have You Written Any Series?

Yes! About a Time Travelling Cat!

This is a picture of me – a while ago! – with Oscar, also known as Mr Grey who inspired the series.

His real life exploits – he used to keep disappearing – made me think, ‘Where does he go?’ But Ka the cat in my stories is a composite of three cats who have owned me, Mr Grey, Mrs Ginger Bits and Ms Mitten. Ka has the best qualities of the three of them, and their colouring mixed together. I decided to make her female as Topher who finds her is a boy.

You can read about their Egyptian adventures in “The Time Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess”, which is read a lot in schools. I get lots of letters from children saying how much they enjoy it and go on to the read the rest of the series,

Their second journey takes them to Elizabethan England, their third to Roman Britain. Their fourth to the time of the Aztecs and the fifth to Anglo-Saxon England when it was terrorised by Vikings. The sixth to Victorian times.

What do you like?

Pigs and plays- I love the theatre – cats and computers, food, books, wine and gardening. My garden is in the picture at the top of the page. The flower garden is semi-wild with lots of wild life. My vegetable beds are tidier.

I love growing food and cooking and eating it! I especially like trying out new recipes.

What did you like best as a child?

Reading – anywhere that I could find peace and quiet. I was the youngest of three children. We lived in a small house and I liked to find a secret place where no one would disturb me, up a tree or in the churchyard – or on the loo!

I loved going to the library – to find more books, sometimes twice a day, despite a ferocious librarian who used to turn me away because I went too often. Librarians are kinder now and much more fun! The grumpy librarian said I couldn’t take books out in the morning and return them in the afternoon, because I couldn’t read them so quickly. But I could and did!

I also adored staying with my Grandma, a brill cook, and being spoiled.

What did you hate most?

Washing up and tidying my bedroom. Boring!

How did you become a writer?

First of all by reading and identifying with Jo March.

That sowed the seed of wanting to be a writer, and feeling I was one. But, like Jo again, I became a teacher first – after studying English and Drama at Manchester University, in my case.

Then I got married and had children. One day I told my daughter, Josie about something very naughty I’d done as a child and she said, “That’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever said in your whole life. You should write that down. You’ve always said you wanted to be a writer really.”

So I did – in WHEN POPPY RAN AWAY.

Through writing it I discovered my Writing Recipe.

Mix together Real Life and What If?