I grew up in the heart of my much loved Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, smelling the freshly roasted coffee and listening to the Sunday morning programmes on the radio. I now live in the grim North West with my young family and a four-legged friend. I am a lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club and a voracious reader of newspapers and books of all descriptions. Yohannes Ishi is my first novel. It was a labour of love - done at the same time as working a full-time job and trying to spend time with my family (2 children under 5!). My main motivation was to show Ethiopia as it really is, unsullied by the Live Aid images that still exist in the minds of people in the so-called "developed" world - and to write a story that people enjoy reading. The reviews so far have been very encouraging; the book appears to have hit a nerve with a wide range of readers. I hope all new readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed the writing.