My dad, his brother and nephew out fishing in the Daisy Ellen The big news is that I’ve just landed my dream project! If you know anything about my stories you’ll know that the sea is the place I write from. I was raised as a fisherman’s daughter in Redcar, North Yorkshire, sucking on lobster... Continue Reading →

“It is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.”Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and The Sea What we’ve witnessed during lockdown is nature rushing into the vacuum we left behind. Goats... Continue Reading →

A writing prompt for anyone who has ever left home.

What is poetry which does not save / Nations or people? / A connivance with official lies, / A song of drunkards whose throats will be cut in a moment.

When I was a teenager my favourite subject was English because it was the one place where the truth didn’t matter; where making things up was the point. I never felt the dread shame I did in History when it was Census Project time. Everyone had to fill in the occupations of their parents to... Continue Reading →

Sunday 8th December 2019 For Words Weekend 4pm – 5pm Northern Rock Foundation Hall Sage Gateshead SLIDE 1: SEA RESCUE CARMEN MARCUS I’m Carmen Marcus, author of How Saints Die and I’m going to talk this windy afternoon about what it means to really ‘go under’. I’m going to be your guide under the sea... Continue Reading →