i'm a Londoner at heart but now live in the Wirral, the little peninsula between Liverpool and North Wales. I work as a university lecturer teaching students training to be teachers. As my specialist area is Literacy, one of my greatest concerns is preventing a our education system creating a generation of 'Can read, won't read' young students. This is why I wrote Sim: I wanted to create a pacy, challenging book which can be read at several levels. Students are quick to sniff out and reject anything which condescends, preaches or tries to sugar-coat an educational purpose. I really hope Sim does none of those things. For family reasons (I'm English and therefore deeply reticent about personal stuff) all the proceeds from Sim are going to cancer research.