A BIT ABOUT ME

I was born and raised in Epping Forest, Essex, the middle child of a tight-knit, arty, noisy, happy, crazy family unit. My habits were drawing, daydreaming, and writing intense, epic stories about magical hamsters. I loved school, worked hard, and went on to study Art History at Leeds University. The day after I finished my degree, I visited the careers library and looked up writing. The insert said: ‘most writers don’t earn a living from writing alone, and often have a day job such as… teaching’.  The next day, undeterred, I enrolled on a teacher-training course and a master plan was hatched.

For the past ten years I’ve been writing professionally, sometimes in combination with part-time teaching, always in combination with full-time parenting – it’s a juggle! Before writing contemporary romance, I wrote lots of children’s books and several non-fiction guides for teachers. I pen the occasional newspaper article and I also write for the Victoria & Albert Museum – my favourite museum in the whole world, full of lovely, life-enhancing objects.  If you haven’t visited recently (or ever) then you must!

I live in Woodford Green (near where I grew up) with my husband and three children. When I’m not working or child wrangling, I love to paint, particularly portraits. I’m also a keen runner, which helps my writing brain – my best ideas, plot solutions and sometimes entire sections of conversation come to me when I run.  Other things I love are vintage dresses, Lalique jewellery, historic houses, psychology, hiking, wild swimming, reading in bed, a proper creepy ghost story, secret gardens, sunsets, Art Deco buildings, travel, trees – I really love trees – and chocolate. I’m pretty sure all of these things somehow filter into my books!

Louisa X