About Me

I grew up in London with my parents, big sister and little brother and a whole load of pets: dogs, cats, Guinea pigs, hamsters and fish. And once I even had a pet frog but that’s another story!

When I was fourteen I went to live in Israel. Saying goodbye to my friends and leaving behind everything that was familiar to me was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Can you imagine what it would be like to go somewhere where you don’t speak the language and you don’t know a single person. It’s probably no surprise that the themes of moving, starting out somewhere new, not fitting in, and feeling lonely and isolated regularly crop up in my books.

When I’m not writing, I work as a drama teacher in a primary school. It’s the best job in the world because I get to spend most of my time singing and dancing and putting on shows. I love going to the theatre, especially musicals. My dream has always been to perform in a West End musical!

I also love lists, I make them all the time, so here is a list of ten random facts about me!

1. I love dark chocolate and have one (two, sometimes three, usually four) squares every day.

2. I don’t play a musical instrument but I’m going to start piano lessons very soon.

3. My favourite song is from the musical Les Miserable and it’s called, On my own.

4. On my desk I have a snow globe with a unicorn inside.

5. I usually get my best ideas in the bath!

6. I have two cats called Betty and Boo. Boo is very fat and very fluffy and likes to keep me company when I’m writing.

7. Reading is probably my biggest passion, even more than writing. I couldn’t live without books!

8. Even though I’m a drama teacher and I love singing and dancing I’m actually very shy!

9. I love cooking, yoga and walking through the woods.

10. I bite my nails!!!

And finally, a very long time ago I went to see a fortune teller. She told me lots of things about my life - some of them true and some of them completely random. However, just before I left she said, I’m not sure what you’re going to do with your life, Anne-Marie, but every time I look at you I see you surrounded by words.