Look and Listen

Biography

I trained as an artist in performative practice before completing an MPhil in Creative Writing (Distinction) at Glasgow University. My artistic practice is now text based and includes a set of e-books on 1970s performance collective The Theatre of Mistakes; a conceptual artwork for New York duo Praxis and James Franco's Museum of Non-Visible Art; and latterly 'Whorticulture,' a novel about four migrant women in antebellum America.

Inspiration

The seed for 'Whorticulture' lies in the true story of a New Orleans madam who killed three husbands, one of whom was a preacher! This made me curious to know more about prostitution in mid-nineteenth century America and what the other options were for women at that time. I was also fascinated by the complex system of race classification in New Orleans - a horrible, racist hierarchy of skin color. I've always loved lyrical writers like Jeanette Winterson and wanted to try to write "beautifully" about a difficult subject. 'Whorticulture' is dark. It's not a romantic book. Some readers have admired the way the women deal with hardship, others have found it depressing. But I've really learned a lot about it from readers' reviews.