Fiona Hood-Stewart

Born in Scotland and brought up internationally, Fiona went to boarding school in Switzerland followed by university in several European venues. Europe was the playground for Fiona and her aristocratic peers before she married and moved to South America where she ran her own design business, before turning to fashion, creating her own label and owning several boutiques in Brazil and the US.

However, like the characters in her novels, Fiona has always been mystically drawn back to Scotland, and makes no secret of the fact that her family home served as the inspiration for Dunbar in The Journey Home. Indeed, she is well acquainted with all the locales that are visited in all her novels which are infused with the pattern of the author's own life experiences, giving them a truly authentic feel. As she speaks seven languages fluently, Fiona has a unique insight and exposure into customs and lifestyles that most of us don't get when visiting foreign countries.

Fiona credits her mother with putting her on the path to becoming a writer. "Mummy always read aloud to me as a child. She didn't approve of television and I spent many hours with my nose in a book. As a child I read everything I could get my hands on."

At present Fiona Hood-Stewart lives in Europe and on her stud ranch in Brazil with her two sons. She travels frequently, regularly visits Paris, London and New York, and can often be seen at the races in Deauville or at Royal Ascot.