Laura Powell

I was born in London, but grew up in the Brecon Beacons. Our house looks across the valley to Carreg Cennen Castle, quite possibly the most romantic ruin in Wales (see the picture above!). It was a very old-fashioned country childhood, and I spent most of it with my nose in a book. I also devoted quite a lot of time plotting ways to escape school. I went to a girls’ boarding school from the age of eleven and absolutely hated it.

University was much better. I studied Classics at Bristol and Oxford, then spent five years working in the editorial departments of both adult and children’s publishers. I now live in West London. My desk is by the attic window so I can daydream over the rooftops - it's perfect for procrastination.