Who I Am:
I was born in Redruth in Cornwall and spent my childhood in the small village of Illogan. One of six children, I remember my early years with great fondness and use some of those memories to create my poetry. I have, however, spent most of my life in Scotland - in Edinburgh and latterly in West Lothian. Here, I am surrounded by open countryside and nature and they provide some of the sights, sounds and smells which inspire me to write.
Other inspiration comes from everyday life and also the paintings of my twin sister, Suzi Hiscutt (see the Photo Gallery page)
I have been involved in Amateur Dramatics for almost 30 years and this has provided me with not only a fertile imagination but also my wife, whom I met while rehearsing for pantomime.
How it began:
I'd written little pieces of poetry for many years - just odd bits for birthdays etc but, in January 2014, Chris (my wife) suggested I look at a magazine article she'd just finished reading. 2014 was, of course, the 100th anniversary of the year World War 1 started and the article was all about letters etc which had been sent to and from 'The Front'. It left me quite profoundly moved and I found myself writing 'To The Millions Who Gave' at 3.00am. Right on its heels were 'My Daddy' and 'My Husband Is Gone' - also at 3.00 in the morning of the days that followed.
Realising that a book full of this kind of poem, was maybe not the best idea, I diversified and my poetry started to cover all manner of topics. Nature, Life, Observations and, to balance the Conflict section, some humour.
I soon had a collection of over 50 poems and purely by chance while being an 'extra' on a film set, met a publisher who was also an'extra'.
My book 'Every Picture Tells' was published in December 2015 and I entered a world of which I'd had no previous knowledge or experience. Launched in Edinburgh, on the same day that Storm Desmond decided to arrive, I did manage to attract a crowd (possibly because we were indoors) and sold my first few copies. Further 'mini-launches' were arranged and the book seemed to be well-received. I was up and running.