I didn’t much fancy becoming a French politician and creative writing, my true passion, never manifested as a career option. Then, in my late twenties, fate led me to retrain as an advertising copywriter. A career path that I hadn't even known existed revealed itself and fitted me like a bespoke, velvet glove.

The advertising industry is intense, especially in the creative department. The pressure to generate the ideas that win the next piece of new business is unrelenting and success is measured almost exclusively by industry accolades and awards. My younger, adrenaline-fuelled incarnation dived into the deep end and loved every second. The older, maturing version began to realise that life needs balance and sometimes splashing around in the shallow end with your wife and young children is more rewarding, especially to the soul.

After winning my share of awards and accolades, having scaled the greasy pole and earned my fancy title, I’d done enough. The realisation was cemented by a period of extreme ill health (necrotising fasciitis. DO NOT google it*). It was time to prioritise the quality of our family's life.

We spent many years visiting the Suffolk coast. It became our sanctuary away from London and one we sought with increasing frequency until it dawned on us that we could and should live here.

We settled here in 2017 and still, every day, count our blessings. Leaving behind the intensity of the London agency scene hasn't dimmed my passion for creative writing one iota. Actually, it has re-energised it. I have recently completed my first novel, The Bowman of Croydon, and continue to work with a broad range of clients helping them to raise the standard of their creative writing output in all its manifestations. I would love your business or organisation to be next.

*You googled it, didn’t you. Yup, nasty, but the source of some very good, rather gory stories.