A K Winter

I was born (and still live) in Surrey, England. I was privileged to grow up surrounded by books, thanks to my mother's own love of them. She taught me to appreciate the joy, comfort, knowledge and refuge that they offer. I spent countless nights after 'lights out', huddled under the covers with a torch and Anthony Buckeridge's Jennings books, which would make me laugh aloud ( a drawback when you're trying to read in secret)! I also developed the ability to completely switch off from my surroundings when I'm reading. This is mostly a blessing, although I was once so immersed in a book while waiting in a departure lounge that I missed my flight! 

English had been my best subject at school and I always loved creative writing. However, it never occurred to me to explore this as a career path. After spending some time working as a nanny in Canada I came home and joined the Ambulance Service. This was a world of laughter and heartbreak, challenges and triumphs, exhaustion and exhilaration. I worked with a most extraordinary group of people who inspired me and uplifted me in equal measure. It was a world where humour was a lifeline. I spent many years in that world and I look back on the majority of it with immense fondness and loyalty.

After a few challenging years I now find myself with a new identity - 'Children's Author'. Perhaps it was a need to escape that led me into this magical world of animals where kindness prevails and where goodness always triumphs. Certainly, Phoebe - the central character who is very real - has been a lifeline to me. 

I have for a long time wanted to write the true story of how she was found and rescued. When I finally embarked on the process something happened that seemed not wholly in my control. As I wrote, the story somehow took over, and I found it leading me in a different direction. At the outset I was writing an almost autobiographical tale, but then I found myself taken into a world of fantasy, of talking animals, of good triumphing over bad, and a world of innocence and fun. I am blissfully happy there and I escape to that world as often as possible! 

Since penning Phoebe Breaks Free, ideas for more stories just keep on coming. She seems to get more adventurous and inquisitive and my job is to write it all down! The inspiration for my stories come in numerous ways and at any time. I may see or hear a name which I think would make a good character, and then I'll create a story around them. People I meet and  places I see may spark an idea and it will snowball from there. My brother Stephen is a huge source of inspiration too. He regularly sends me wonderful outlines for stories, and we frequently laugh till we cry as we lose ourselves in another madcap adventure! Very often though, random ideas come to me from seemingly nowhere. I will start with a broad outline for a story, but by the time it is completed I hardly recognise it. 

The whole process is a magical thing that is both exciting and amazing and I have no idea how it happens. All I know is that as long as Phoebe keeps having adventures, I will keep writing them!