Gunn is a Scottish surname from, in my case, Caithness in the far north; but I was born in Tanzania, and grew up in Nigeria, Scotland and parts of England before settling into multicultural London, where I raised my own family.

‘Felix Unbound’ is my first novel. It developed quietly, in stages, during a long career as a financial journalist and financial editor at a variety of UK national newspapers and magazines, and writing non-fiction books that revealed what underlay some business scandals and dramas of the 1990s.

I always loved people-watching, art, and theatre, and felt increasingly drawn to working in arts fundraising – finally making that leap with the wonderful, inclusive Chickenshed Theatre, in North London. Life led next to an iconic archaeological project in London’s Shoreditch at the rediscovered site of the first purpose-built theatre since Roman times: James Burbage’s legendary and long-1ost 16th century ‘The Theatre’, where Shakespeare’s career first burgeoned. The site, owned by a modern theatre company, sought funds for a viewing walkway so visitors could see what the archaeologists from the Museum of London were uncovering. Being on site as spaces and objects once in use at ‘The Theatre’ emerged from 400 years spent cradled under the earth since Shakespeare himself last stood there, was spine-tingling, unforgettable.

These brushes with the past led me to an MA in the History of Ideas,  yielding another treasure trove, to draw upon for fiction-writing. While completing ‘Felix Unbound’, I started trying out other ideas as short stories, am developing one into a novella, and begun to explore the wonderful and challenging world of writing poetry.

During all the above, I’ve shared life with various cats including the feisty inspirer of ‘Felix Unbound’, and several dogs; one husband, co-raised two children; and currently mentor an arts management student per year.