Sally was born in Kent, but for the last twenty years has lived in Gloucestershire. Other than the fact that Sally has been writing all her life, she began seriously writing for children in 1984 while she was working for a children’s book club. Since 1995 she has been writing full time. Sally’s favourite children’s book is The Wind in the Willows. If someone asked her why they should spend time reading she would reply, ‘Try it, because it’s one of the few ways you can cut yourself off from what is going on around you and let your imagination soar. Through reading you can explore new worlds, meet new people, learn things you didn’t know and find out things about yourself.' In answer to how she sets about writing a story she says, ‘Sometimes I have to just sit and think and let my imagination wander. I might think first of a beginning, or an ending, a title, or perhaps just one line. A newspaper article or an event or something that has happened to me, my family or my friends, can often trigger astory. It’s a question of “seizing the moment” when an idea begins to form and then shaping it and reshaping it endlessly until I am happy.’