‘Orrible, this

I was outside a pub in London with Simon Dixon the other week. Simon and I have enjoyed time spent talking for my podcast, and during occasional pop-ins to the DixonBaxi office, but following their week's sabbatical with the Think Paradiso team, we finally found time to talk about life in general.

We got onto our roots growing up in relative scarcity in Yorkshire, and how that shapes you as you enter the creative industry. That can be both good and bad, but awareness of it is important to avoid having your perception of self shaped by others.

It's a common topic that comes up when I coach my clients.

Simon made a valuable observation that while I'd illustrated for 18 years, if you had to define me, it wouldn't be as an 'illustrator' but as a 'storyteller.' It's something I realised as my path veered off into many disciplines, such as writing and interviewing, which illuminated me just as much.

Growing up in Keighley in the 1980s/early '90s meant I was surrounded by a litany of live-action cartoon characters, and local lore was strong.

I've seen some run and hide from such origins, but I've always used it in my artistic voice.

As I travelled around, fortunate enough to go to university, I looked for such traits and rich tales in others.

In Preston, I met Andrew Lewis and always adored the thick central Lancashire accent. So when I wrote and published YA MUM and Other Stories from the Backstreets of Britain, I thought a nice launch campaign would be to round up a broad spread of friends and peers with great accents, who embraced their roots, to read story excerpts.

Andy was a perfect fit because we shared a warped fascination with the underbelly of the towns we were raised in.

This level of filth, of course, only works for some, but that's the glory of storytelling. It comes with infinite possibilities and must be hewn from the personality, lived experience, and tastes of its author.

If you could benefit from some help tapping into your voice and story, get in touch here, and we can discuss a coaching program.