Education

1989-1996 University of Glasgow -- Ph.D. in English Literature
Doctoral thesis: 'Representations of middle-class single women in the novel from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century.'
Research funded by Scottish Studentship Grant Award from the Scottish Education Department.

1985-1989 University of Glasgow -- M.A. Joint Honours in English and Scottish Literature

1995-1996 University of Strathclyde -- Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Secondary) with Merit in Academic Practice.

2002 Basil Paterson College, Edinburgh -- CELTA qualification

Recent Professional Experience

Consultant (Summer 2007 -- present)
Employed by: EU-funded Companions research project for investigating intelligent, persistent, personalised multimodal interfaces to the internet.

Self-employment (Spring 2007 -- present)
Formed two ecommerce businesses with a business partner: the Oxford Word Doctor, a copywriting, proofreading and web-content development business, offering both English and Chinese services. Second company, iAfterlife, is a fledgling social networking site, to be launched in Autumn 2007. Oxford Word Doctor can be found at: Oxford Word Doctor and the website of iAfterlife is under development.

Freelance Writer (2005 -- present)
I write children's fiction such as 'The Remarkable Heroism of Unpopular Animals' and 'Tucked-In Tales' and have written 'Dining with Destiny', a set of cookery books that examine the socio-political and cultural context of food. My agent is Barbara Gorna of Blackberry Literary Agency, ex-Conservative spokeswoman on domestic violence and Chairwoman of the Fawcett Society. The Blackberry website is: www.blackberryliteraryagency.com

Teacher of English (2002-present)
Rye St Antony Independent Boarding and Day School
Responsibilities: Teaching KS3 English, GCSE English/ English Literature, AS and A2 level English Literature; reviewing and modifying existing courses and devising new materials as part of curriculum review process to ensure most appropriate teaching and learning methodologies are used; internal assessment and moderation; responsible for the English Department's development of extended support for children with specific learning needs and for the management of KS4.

Lecturer in English Communications (1999-2002)
James Watt College of Further and Higher Education Greenock
Responsibilities: Lecturing; operating as a facilitator responsible for supervising, providing induction for and monitoring of new members of staff; participating in the development and delivery of short courses specially designed for local business and industry; teaching at outreach centres in line with social inclusion policy; open and flexible learning; working as a Scottish Qualifications Authority English and Communications marker

Lecturer in Communication (1998-9)
Prison Education Unit, James Watt College, Greenock
Responsibilities: Provided student-centred learning opportunities for prisoners; trained and supported prisoners as Basic Literacy peer tutors - this was a pilot project and the first such project operating nationally; taught core literacy and diagnostically assessed educational needs; developed accessible courses in areas of English language and literature; compiled education reports on prisoner educational performance which contributed to Security Category Reviews and recidivism analyses; supported undergraduate and postgraduate flexible university learning; assisted Education Unit Co-ordinator in implementing staff development and support.

Part-time Lecturer and Tutor in English Literature and Women's Studies (1996-8)
University of Aberdeen
Responsibilities: Delivered and internally assessed undergraduate courses from first-year up to Honours level.

Part-time Lecturer in Adult and Pre-Access Outreach Courses in English and Scottish Literature.
University of Glasgow
Responsibilities: Designed and lectured adult outreach courses for students from target areas of social inclusion Ð courses were devised to tackle persistent long-term unemployment and economic inactivity. Had a specific remit to provide comprehensive and supportive guidance to adult learners on university learning opportunities.

Co-ordinator and Lecturer for English Language and Literature Section of Glasgow University Summer School
University of Glasgow
Responsibilities: Created and taught accessible university-level English language and literature entry course, the successful completion of which guaranteed entry to Glasgow University; delivered study skills courses for disadvantaged students which catered for a full range of abilities; was responsible for internal assessment of students and compilation of educational progress reports.

Publications and Conference Papers

'Dry Sticks, Old Flames and What About the Ashes? Some Cautionary Tales for Single Women in the Mid-Nineteenth Century Novel.'

'"You'll die of hunger in the end": Lesbian Vampires and Heterosexuality in Clemence Dane's Regiment of Women.'

Interests