Judy Darley

An Introduction

Hello! I'm Judy Darley.  I work as a freelance journalist and fiction writer, and began making up storeis as a tiny child long before I learnt to read.  Studying journalism at university taught me to edit my ramblings, and I found my first paid writing role on travel magazine, Spanish Homes, in 2005.

Since August 2008 I've divided my time between writing fiction and journalism for a variety of websites, magazines and anthologies, including Quality Fiction Magazine, Open Magazine, Gemini Magazine, The Good Ear Review, The View From Here and Crab Lines Off The Pier.

But why want to write about a cemetery?  Well, for one thing, Arnos Vale is also a garden, a heritage wonderland and a wilderness.  Walking along its paths, especially on days when the sun is hiding and few people are around, you never quite know what you'll see!  In some areas you're so surrounded by trees that the city disappears completely from view.  In other areas, incredibly carved tombs and memorials stand amid the tangled greenery, while ancient tree roots rise up like surreal sculptures.  In short, it's a place where nature, history and art merge, and every twisting path yields up new inspiration.

For me, the cemetery also reminds me of the thrill of having my first short story published in a magazine, as it provides the setting of "Restoration" which you can read on this website.  Why not come by and see how Arnos Vale inspires you?