Sharon grew up in Omagh, County Tyrone, at a time when the old tradition of storytelling around the fireplace was still alive. Her interest in the many and various Northern Irish cultural traditions grew during her studies at Queens University Belfast in the eighties. She then decided to follow in ancestral footsteps and emigrate – firstly to “the distant shores” of Sheffield where she created piles of forms for local government. A five week trip to Germany turned into a new life which has already spanned more than two decades at the time of writing.
Sharon has been spinning stories all her life, and even won second prize in a Northern Ireland Poem for Peace inter-school competition. However she only began writing seriously when she joined a writing group in Berlin.
This anthology of poems and short stories is her own personal journey to and from Northern Ireland, real or imaginary, and seemed to collect itself from creative writing workshops and other sources of inspiration.
She has read her work at different venues in Germany, and is an active member of several writing groups. Her writing has received not only critical acclaim, but also generated interest in the rich and sometimes complex tapestry of Northern Ireland.
Sharon’s subsequent works include a thriller, also set in Northern Ireland and a children’s book based on a fantasy story she spun together with her son over a period of ten years. Sharon has suffered from the autoimmune illness alopecia since her late teens and, therefore, a further project is a creative autobiography.
Her wish, apart from finding peace with the country which has never left her, is to share the healing power and sheer fun of experimenting with story-telling and writing.