Auriel Roe
Author & Artist
I'm an author and artist and I spent the earlier part of my career teaching drama and art in secondary schools in England and abroad, in addition to raising two children. I started publishing my work three years ago when one of my short stories was shortlisted for a major UK writing competition. A Blindefellows Chronicle is my first published novel and held the #1 spot for humour in Amazon kindle (UK, US and Canada). Let The Swine Go Forth is my second novel and loosely draws from my days as an international educator - when a British school is set up in a totalitarian state, what can possibly go wrong? See 100+ reviews on Goodreads and Amazon...
I see myself as an accidental novelist... I suddenly started properly writing when I was in an isolated spot for 3 weeks without internet - the perfect conditions for kick starting a book.
Art
Still Life, Animal Portraits, Book Illustration
I usually paint in oils on canvas or reclaimed aged wood and my artworks have been shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Show in London. I produced the 80th birthday portrait of Dame Jane Goodall and I support various charities such as Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital with artwork donations. I see artistic merits in everyday objects such as jars of gherkins and Tabasco bottles. Some of my best subjects are things I come across by chance in antique shops, on the beach or in forests.