Childhood: Born in Leicester, grew up by the sea in Norfolk, youngest of three children. Loved reading and writing stories. At 16, won the WH Smith Young Writers' Award, one of top ten winners out of 33,000 entrants. 

Favourites children's books: Midnight is a Place, by Joan Aitken,  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, The Borrowers, by Mary Norton, Ballet Shoes for Anna, by Noel Streatfield, World's End, by Monica Dickens, and the first adult novel I ever read,Wuthering Heghts by Emily Bronte.

At nineteen I went to King's College, London, and as soon as I finished my degree I took part-time jobs in bookshops/libraries and wrote the rest of the time, determined to publish a novel. In Edinburgh I found work with a literary agent. 

16 years ago, I moved from London to Scotland, with my son who was a year old at the time.  We lived on Sheriffmuir in a remote cottage, and this provided the inspiration for CHILL.  My daughter Martha was born while living there, after a winter of blizzards.

Some of my favourite contemporary authors are Chris Priestly and Marcus Sedgwick.  I don't know why, but I love a good ghost story set in the snow.

Since my parents died in 2006 (weeks after CHILL was published) I still feel the inspiration and encouragement they gave me.

I now combine writing with teaching.