I never had a computer, or games console when I was younger, and I was never allowed friends over, so I threw myself into my three passions, the three things I do best and love most; reading, writing, and drawing.

I've always been influenced by many different authors, but the one who inspired me to write when I was a little girl, was Enid Blyton. I loved her books, all of them winding little fairy-worlds and magical creatures. In my opinion, they are some of the most amazing children's stories ever written. I also used to love all the Ladybird series, particularly Beauty and the Beast. I was always drawn to slightly darker fairytales as I got older, such as Red Riding Hood.

When I was eleven or so, I became interested in horror, thanks in part to R.L.Stines 'Goosebumps' series. I started to read more classical literature, my favourite (and stil lis today) being Charles Dickens. His characters seemed so colourful and gritty, that I found them more intriguing than any others. As the years passed, I began to enjoy others classical books, such as 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', and the infamous 'Dracula'.

I also enjoyed Gerald Durrell's family memoirs, the first one I ever read being 'My Family and Other Animals'. I have never liked autobiographies or memoirs, but he wrote them with such a flair, and wrote descriptions so vivid you felt you were there, even including a wonderful sense of humour.

So overall, I would say my biggest influences were; Enid Blyton, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, Gerald Durrell, and Bram Stoker, among others.