Short Story Time

In The Kiss, a married woman goes to confront the woman she believes is trying to break up her marriage. But the encounter doesn’t go quite as planned... 

I wrote this one a few years back, before the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements had become a huge thing, though they're certainly related to it now! The story grew from the notion that women must compete with other women if they are going to succeed in life - a notion with which I whole-heartedly disagree.

Themes: infidelity, #MeToo. (And yes, it contains swears.)

This short film follows a man as he faces his fear of the sea and finally battles the demons that have plagued him for so long. I wrote The Sea and His Wife for a Jameson short film competition that would have starred Dominic West had I won. Ah well, it was fun to write. I tweaked the script for the podcast but it was written for a visual impact - one I hope you can imagine as the majority of the script is dialogue-free.

A quirky YA romance, The Cyclist follows a young woman as she is walking home, only to have a bug fly in her mouth, causing her to spit violently into the street - right onto the neck of a passing cyclist, who looks a little familiar... 

It was inspired by an idea I had to put a short story collection together that involved somebody spitting in each of the stories. An odd idea, I grant you, but it was to publicise the brilliant work done by one of my favourite charities, The Anthony Nolan Trust. When I was a kid, my mum organised blood drives for them - as the only way you could join the register was to donate blood. Now, you just need to spit into a little vial. Easy as that! Check out their brilliant work at www.anthonynolan.org. 

The Cyclist was performed by the brilliant Sarah Louise Dean of Beyond Bechdel (@Beyond_Bechdel).

She Must Get Out of Bed takes a look at a woman struggling to get through the most ordinary of days because her depression makes everything a challenge. 

The story was inspired by the daily struggles I had while I was dealing with my depression. I knew, even then, that mine was not as severe as others but I really struggled with social interaction and just mustering the energy and enthusiasm for basic tasks was a constant challenge that left me exhausted. Thankfully, with anti-depressants and therapy - and friends who knew to gently push me, not make demands - I got much better. 

If you're struggling, there are people to call. I started with a visit to my GP. Here's to great mental health.