Biography

Some of you will have cleverly noticed that Remittance Girl is not the name I was born with. I decided to use a psudonym because, quite frankly, what I write is not compatible with what I do for a living. Not everyone is as open minded as you are and, on second thought, would you let me anywhere near your impressionable adolescent? No, probably not.

The name itself is a reference to a "remittance man". Good old Wikipedia describes a remittance man thus:

Remittance Man
In the 19th century, the English usage of the word usually referred to money sent from England - the opposite direction to today's usual usage of the term. A remittance man was an exile living on money sent from home. Within Victorian British culture, this often meant the black sheep of an upper or middle class family who was sent away (from the UK to the Empire), and paid to stay away. These men were generally of dissolute or drunken character, and may have been sent overseas after one or more disgraces at home.

I live in exile in southern Vietnam, where I do my level best not to disgrace my family by staying as far away from them as possible. However, once a year or so, I just can't help myself; I make the trek back to England.

I live in a small house with a giant mango tree in the front yard and a cat called "Seven". In the back, I have a covered orchid garden, which I tend to with an obsession that most people would consider unhealthy. I find that orchid growing and sex have a great deal in common.

In order to more effectively infect the vulnerable minds of those within my sphere of influence, I hold a masters in writing and am agonizing over a PhD. This has made me a good deal more critical about my own writing and, sadly, less productive.