Andi explained copyright © Andi Dawson
		I was born in Cannock, Staffordshire in 1976, to Lynda and Adrian Dawson and of course, my big brother Chris was there to greet me with open arms.  We have all moved far away from where we once called home, but we remain very close even though there are a few hundred miles between us. Growing up couldn't have been more fun.  My parents were, and still are really cool; I have always admired and loved them both and will continue to do so forever.  My brother adored me, hated me, learned to live with me and now finally respects and loves me, as I do him.  My passion for reading and writing can probably be attributed to Chris, as I learnt the alphabet with his help from his ABC wallchart when I was 18 months old. I started writing poetry when I was still in primary school, but it was English class with Mrs Sneyd at Norton Canes High School that really made me realise that I had something of a penchant for writing.  Although, at the time I thought I was destined to travel the world, playing the organ on a cruise ship.  I never made it to the open sea though, as my desire to write took over; I entered every writing competition I could find.  Many competitions saw my work published in leather bound poetry anthologies and one poem was even recorded for a special tape.  This wasn't enough though, so after spending a few years at college I went to university to try and hone my skill.  Since those early days, I have freelanced for several non-fictional publications and been successfully published on a regular basis, with the most recent fictional publications in a Forward Press book called Poems for Dad and on the BBC NI Get Writing website. The universe isn't my oyster yet though and world domination is a little bit further off than originally planned, but my philosophy remains the same: 'It is always possible to learn something new and if it is not, find a new teacher'.  Instead of more academic courses though, I have learnt through living and hope that my writing style expresses that (apart from the stories where the characters are psychotic, thats not something I have learnt, thats just my imagination - honest!).  I now live and work in Belfast; a job at the BBC providing the much-needed income for my swish new apartment and extravagant lifestyle ;-}