Life has a way of inviting evolution

For over twenty-five years, I worked as a registered counsellor and psychotherapist, supporting people through transition, change, identity, mediation, loss, faith, leadership, and complex life issues. My work drew from non-verbal communication, unconscious processing, language patterns, and deep listening, to helping people make sense of what may be happening deeper beneath the surface.

Alongside this, I trained in spiritual accompaniment and began lay ministry training. I also developed my own writing, publishing, and reflective practice, learning not only how to shape words on the page, but how to help others find confidence in their own voice. Plus, I taught myself how to take a personal problem, plan a therapeutic metaphor and write a make believe story around it, with a resolute conclusion. (See Recommended Reading List and References.) This felt an amazing catharsis for me, and so I continued to develop my own model to help another person ethically process their feelings through the written word and reflection with the help of an attentive facilitator. (I didn't realise at the time, back in 2007, how valuable those learnings would be now as work towards the ARCLIGHT™ for my Doctorate in Ministry.)

Over time, I found myself writing and publishing my own work (4 non fiction, plus 2 poetry books for friends, 1 co-written book for a colleague and guiding various people through publishing their own written manuscripts), beta reading and reviewing books, contributing magazine and newspaper articles (Lincolnshire Life Magazine, The Poacher Magazine, Lincolnshire Echo Newspaper, Louth and Skegness Standard and Yours Magazine), and helping other writers bring their ideas to life. This blend of listening, reflection, shaping, and helping people discover their authentic voice still remains at the heart of my work today. Bringing people together and helping others to discover their natural light seems to come naturally to me. Without ego, motive or agenda.

Without ego and offering gentle interactive facilitation, I have spoken to groups of medical staff, corporate companies, charities, and writers' groups. My last speaking event (before focussing upon my own writing) being at the once McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield for a medical supply company called Contravec; receiving good feedback, including a request to work with groups of patients to help encourage emotional wellbeing.

Busy Corner Books grew from a quiet corner of my own life — a place where words mattered, listening mattered, and people deserved to be met with dignity at every stage of their journey — acknowledgement for others always being a large part of the process.

Writing, for me, has never been about performance. It's about process, honesty, authenticity, and finding language for what we already carry.

I now hold a Master of Arts in Creative Writing and am currently working through a Doctorate of Ministry, with a focus on spiritual formation, ethics, and reflective practice. My work sits at the crossroads of creativity, careful thought, ethical practice, and compassionate presence.

Some parts of a calling cannot be fully explained. My late earthly father's life, love, faith, and encouragement shaped me in ways words can never fully hold. The Doctorate of Ministry is part of my response to that legacy: a way of honouring God, whom I believe to be my Heavenly Father, serving others with greater integrity, and honouring the life of my earthly father who helped shape my courage.

Busy Corner Books, Writing Well and ARCLIGHT™ is not therapy services. However, it is ethically grounded in trauma-awareness, neurodiversity-informed, and accountable reflective practice. My work is supported by professional external supervision. I hold appropriate insurance, an appropriate disclosure check, and work within a clear safeguarding and ethical framework.

This is a space for careful attention, sensitive reflection, and meaningful personal and/or professional development.

Whether you arrive as a writer seeking clarity from feeling stuck, a professional supporting others, a pastoral worker, or someone longing to make sense of your story, you will be met with care, compassion, integrity, and patience.

At its heart, Busy Corner Books is about honouring the person in front of me, the quiet courage it takes to put words on a page and the safe environment to write honestly about reflective process.

Held by God, Serving Others:

In 2023, an accident changed my body, my pace, and my life. It also deepened my calling.

Many people run away from pain and loosen their grip on the cross: I prayed just about every breathing moment through the trauma of the following event.

I know something of what it means to begin again: to feel humbled by change, to climb slowly from a place I did not choose, and to discover God in the quietest and most painful places: An accident: broken and crushed bones; reconstruction surgery; a life transition with new physical limitations; a wheelchair suggestion; told I would never walk in the same way again — this all felt a huge challenge.

However, my walk did change, through my healing process, I discovered some gifts were not lost, just different and adapted. They were simply being  strengthened, loosened or rekindled.

I do not lead from a platform. I seek to facilitate through faith, compassion, discernment, and a deep relationship with Father God. I believe ministry is much more than what happens from a pulpit, and I hope my work can sit as a thoughtful complement to the life of the Church, while also remaining respectful and accessible to people from different backgrounds and beliefs.

The Foundations of My Work

We are all individual, and I respect each person's beliefs and background.
 

As God rebuilt my own life, He also rekindled gifts planted long ago. Busy Corner Books now stands on these foundations:

• writing and publishing
• guiding and encouraging others
• understanding emotional landscapes
• helping people discover their authentic voice
• true congruence from within
• holding safe and reflective spiritual spaces
• nurturing originality, courage, and discernment
• encouraging meaningful connection and mutual respect
• honouring each person's beliefs and individuality

Here, *reflective writing is not only a craft. It can also become a place of reflection, healing, discernment, and gentle transformation.

Through Writing Well courses, the ARCLIGHT™ spiritual formation journey, and CPD/PD training, my heart remains the same: to help you reflect more deeply, find language for your experience, keep your own lamp topped up with oil, and grow through your own process, honouring who you are becoming. Psalm 119:105. (...and again, please see my recommended reading list.)

*These courses are not therapy. They are facilitated with careful listening, thoughtful guidance, and respect for each person's individual process. Many participants find the experience deeply meaningful, and at times, emotionally releasing and moving.