Erica Mary Orchard

When I was at school I entered every available writing competition, and always came either second or third: “how frustrating was that”, one might say; though I did get a day-trip to Amsterdam out of it. One of my short stories was shortlisted in The Real Writers Award 2003. I had another published in an online science-fiction sight called Aphelion, and a magazine called Jupiterwith published another of my science-fiction stories.  I’ve also written a number of sketches for performance in Gillingham town centre (one for the Make Poverty History campaign) and stories for Storytelling, which I performed myself.

I am a compulsive reader, reading everything from Chicken Licken to Chick Lit. (Well, maybe not Chicken Licken. I just put that because it alliterated.) I love children’s books, and am always raiding the children’s section at the library. I also read crime, science fiction, that mysterious category called “literature”, and factual books. Anything with words, really. Instructions on shampoo bottles. Greetings cards in shops.

I take a keen interest in ethical issues, and can bore holes in concrete if asked for my views on Nestlé, global warming, permaculture, Make Poverty History, cloning, genetic engineering… Inevitably these things spill over into my writing: I never intend to preach or provide pat answers, but I do think it’s vital that people think and discuss these things. Teenagers particularly are at the age when they are finding things out and making decisions about how they will live, which is why I find them so rewarding to talk to and write for.