Why write Walking on Tiptoe?

I have a son, now a teenager, who has severe autism. I have also spent many years working with other famillies affected by autism. I wanted to make use of all these experiences, in the hope of showing others they are not alone.

Yet when I decided to write about autism I realised that a straightforward autobiography would not be sufficient. There is nothing particularly outstanding about my family, we have suffered no tragic loss nor found a miracle cure for my son's challenges. Like the majority of such families we just survive, from day to day.

So in creating Walking on Tiptoe I created a fictional family, leading fictional lives. My aim was to create a story with enough drama to keep the reader involved, without losing any emotional authenticity, so some of Emma's experiences are semi-autobiographical, many are not. But they are all based on the truth of living with a child who has autism.

First draft

The first draft of my first novel, Walking on Tiptoe, was completed in January 2010.