Jane Hardstaff grew up in Wiltshire with her brothers, hunting mayfly-nymphs with her father and reading fairytales with her mother. Now she lives in London’s East End, near the great, wild River Thames – inspiration for THE EXECUTIONER’S DAUGHTER and RIVER DAUGHTER.

When she's not writing, Jane is a television producer. All her work involves drinking tea and eating a lot of toast.

Her ideal dinner part guests would be: Hermione Granger, Lyra Belacqua, David Attenborough, Seamus Heaney, Neil Gaiman, Queen Elizabeth I and Han Solo.