‘Life is serious, but is not to be lived too seriously’. Serious or humorous, my poems are always good-natured.

I write when I have something to say, and I feel I have found the right way to say it. It’s about having fun with words and meaning, using words skilfully to say things differently, and saying the familiar in unfamiliar ways.

In 2017 I self-published a collection of poetry and wit as Particles of Light, with a 2nd edition in 2025. The book has been well received and has sold well in my local bookshops.

Intersecting Lines, my second collection, was traditionally published by indie publisher Beercott Books in 2021. In 2025 Beercott Books published my third collection, titled Reflections. These two collections continue to reflect my interest in people, love, the natural world, and the human condition.

In 2025 I also compiled together the sections of wit from my 3 collections and published it as Wit ‘n Word. There are poems to move you, to surprise you, and to make you laugh. The humorous poems and one-liners are there for entertainment, to be enjoyed, though they often contain a ‘sting in the tail’. I hope readers will enjoy reading my poems and will feel I am putting their own experiences and emotions into words.

I read regularly at poetry ‘open mics’ and at local literary events, and I give talks about my poetry to community groups.

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Chris Andrews Publications has produced guide books, coffee tables and souvenir books in Oxford for over 40 years. The company also publishes calendars, cards, posters and fridge magnets. All are photographed, designed and produced by ourselves. We also publish books and cards in the Cotswolds, Chilterns, Channel islands and Belfast.

I’ve written more than a few books, but writing about myself might be the hardest thing of all. Let’s start simply. I was born in Jamaica. No, I can’t run or sing, and if I tried, it wouldn’t be pretty.

My love of books began as soon as I could read on my own and discovered the power of stories. Surprisingly, it was my father who taught me to read, despite being dyslexic himself. He taught himself using newspapers and abandoned catalogues from the resorts where he worked as a carpenter. That’s where my love of words began.

As a teenager, I turned to reading to escape the emotional upheaval of my parents’ breakup. Writing soon followed, becoming a way to say the things I couldn’t speak aloud. I’m naturally shy, and writing became my voice.

For years, writing stayed a hobby. That changed when I returned to university to study English Literature and finally began taking my work seriously. Over the last two years, I’ve written and self-published around fourteen novels and novellas.

I write romance because happy endings gave me hope during difficult times, and I want to pass that feeling on. I write science fiction because, as a lifelong Trekkie and a Black woman, I rarely saw myself in the worlds I loved, so I created my own. I write around real life with a husband, two boys, work, and the PTA, usually at night when it’s quiet. And if I ever met an alien, I’d run. Jamaican style.

If you love heart, humour, romance, and a touch of sci‑fi chaos, I hope you’ll try one of my stories.

Deborah Taylor, The Blue Pencil, is a freelance copy editor and proofreader based in Newbury, Berkshire. A member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, she specialises in working with indie authors and small publishers across crime, memoir, and romance genres.

With a background rooted in the print industry, Deborah brings warmth, expertise, and a genuine love of language to everything she does. She supports self-publishing authors, combining meticulous attention to detail with a warm, encouraging approach—because great editing should feel like a collaboration.

Geoffrey was born in East London in 1948 and grew up with his parents and two brothers in Winchmore Hill. He attended St Pauls C of E Primary School and, having failed his 11+, moved on to Winchmore Secondary Modern School. Here he studied for his O and A Level GCEs before taking up a place at City University to read Civil Engineering. A career with Consulting Engineers, Contractors but primarily Local Government served him well and now retired he lives with his wife in Buckinghamshire.