Freelance Journalist


About Sharon

Why write a biography? It only pins you down. Suffice to say I was born in Africa.  And already that’s seeing the world without its skin. My father was the local gynaecologist. My mother was born in Strasbourg. My grandmother lived with us. In many ways I loved my childhood but not in others. I would have been cheating myself if I hadn’t left to study English literature in Britain. Before that I was lucky enough to live in Paris on the threshold of womanhood, in the spring, on my own, and of course that stays with you forever. We ate well and cheaply and I learnt to love wine and got engaged. At Edinburgh I got a First class MA Honours and the Janet Christie Bequest to study abroad. So we drove to Florence and lived in an old farmhouse for 8 months, learning Italian, studying at the British Institute.

In the slipstream of your life you imagine you’ll be a great writer, another Virginia Woolf, have the perfect family, be the best mother. So many impossible aims. I ended up being a journalist. A mother to one daughter. A lover. As a journalist I did quite a lot of good in the beginning. Campaigning stories, saving a horribly mistreated lioness in Italy, seals in the Hebrides, premature babies at Dulwich hospital in need of incubators, endangered leatherback turtles in Tobago. I have done a lot of travel articles, restaurant and hotel reviews, and many years of exciting seat-of-the pants Showbiz stories, travelling with Freddie Mercury, Rod Steward, Spandau Ballet, interviewing Angelina Jolie, Leonardo di Caprio, Bono, Jude Law. Now I’m writing a novel set in Venice and its working title is Behind the Mirror. With a novel, which takes years to write, you’re not the same person at the end of the book as you were  at the beginning. The story has changed, the characters are deeper, but you have changed with them. You fall in love with all of them. I’m nearly ready to say goodbye to them and let them stand on their own.

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News Feed

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True Grace, Candles

True Grace candle makers have perfected the art of creating different seasons in ones living room, whatever the weather outside. Whether it be the Moroccan Rose of spring or delicious Orangery of bright summer sunshine, the candles infuse a room with balmy scents, much more vibrant than the usual ones on the market. It”s a … Continued

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X Factor job ‘lined up’

X Factor star Zayn Malik is set to make a shock return to the show – as a judge. Boss Simon Cowell hopes the hunky singer will draw in an army of teenage fans to boost viewing fi gures. Simon 55, believes signing up one of his One Direction boys, who found fame on the … Continued

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Reason Zayn quit

Even by showbiz standards, life as a member of One Direction is a rollercoaster ride. The boys had a meteoric rise to fame five years ago and have admitted collapsing exhausted on the floor just feet from their beds because of their tough workload and non-stop touring. Jamie Scott, the songwriter behind some of 1D’s … Continued

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Pistorius ‘to coach children’

Oscar Pistorius hopes to secure parole terms that would allow him to work with children when he leaves prison as early as August. The South African athlete was sentenced in October to five years in jail for manslaughter after admitting that he had shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, four times through a locked bathroom door. … Continued

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Elounda Mare, Crete

This is a hotel that seeps into your psyche and lures you back time and again. Set amidst scented gardens, overlooking the glinting bay of Mirabello, the Elounda Mare is quintessentially romantic. The traditional whitewashed buildings are stylishly furnished with rugs, antiques, and comfortable furniture, and the overall sense is of space and privacy. It’s … Continued