The Isle of Wight Railways

I never really knew what I wanted to do in life because I was interested in so many different things – but writing has meant that I haven’t had to choose. I haven’t had to stick with just one thing.

What motivates me to write is the ability to share the things that inspire me. Often these are quite niche subjects, as I seem to be drawn to different and unusual stories. But it also means most of my work requires lots of intense research.

For example, my first book – The Isle of Wight’s Missing Chapter – came about from an interest in Black British history and a conviction the Island should have some hidden multi-racial history too. I looked for people of African and Caribbean origin in 19th-century newspapers, biographies and journals and soon found incredible amounts of information about their presence on the Isle of Wight – everything from Ethiopian princes, to Jamaican models and mixed-race Island-born sailors.

Similarly, a love of food and a chance encounter with a one hundred and fifty-year-old doughnut recipe set me on a path that eight months later would lead to my second book: Historic Isle of Wight Food. I didn’t just discover a few forgotten regional specialities, it was more like uncovering snapshots of a completely forgotten local cuisine which the book attempts to rediscover and recreate.

The rest of the world is also a huge inspiration for me. I studied with universities in Scandinavia, undertook fieldwork in the Republic of Georgia and lived for a time in Istanbul, Turkey – but wherever I am or whatever I’m doing, the Isle of Wight is (and always will be) a part of me.