I take a sideways look at life, love and parenthood in my skewed humour column for RTHK Radio 3, Sharp Pains. The series inspired some goofy columns in the South China Morning Post, including my ‘3 Terrifying Short Stories‘, published in the festive edition of Post Mag Dec 2021.
Sharp Pains was shortlisted for Best Regularly Scheduled Comedy Program by the 2022 New York Festivals Radio Awards. The Bake Fail episode was nominated for ‘Moment of Comedy Gold‘ by the 2022 International Women’s Podcast Awards in London and chosen by the 2022 On Air Fest in Brooklyn, New York (rebranded On Air Presents in 2025) as one of their Official Selects. It was published as A Piece of Cake by the SCMP in 2022. In 2023 Sharp Pains was nominated for ‘Moment of Comedy Gold‘ by IWPA judges for a second consecutive year – this time for Home Spa.
The columns inspired short stories for anthologies After the Storm, Imprint 21, Lost in Transition, Imprint 22, Imprint 23 and Score, all of which launched at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival in 2021, 2023, 2024 & 2025. In 2023 I was invited to perform Bake Fail at the Women in Publishing Society‘s launch of Imprint 21 at the FCC. In 2024 I was invited back to read The Snide Sniper and in 2025 I read A Sting in the Tail.
Sharp Pains was long-listed by comedian Helen Lederer‘s 2023 Comedy Women in Print Prize. The judges commented, ‘Sharp Pains has some great funny one-liners, and well-executed, relatable content, about love, life, and the lengths the sleep-deprived will go to for a good night’s sleep.’ In 2024 I won the Comedy Women in Print Prize‘s flash fiction competition.
Since 2022 Sharp Pains has also been growing a listenership of confused poetry fans on the Voice Your Passion poetry channel on YouTube!
Sharp Pains on RTHK Radio 3
