Making up stories of her own has always been one of Michelle's passions. She received her first rejection letter at the age of eight for Keri the Koala Baby, and has been writing ever since. A love of literature led her to major in English at the University of Newcastle where she recently completed a MPhil (Creative Writing).

She has worked an assortment of jobs. Everything from waitress at a wedding convention centre (where the staff oohed and ahhed over fairytale wedding dresses) to answering the complaints line at a call centre for a bank. All of which have provided her with endless ideas for stories.

Her own "happy-ever-after" came in 1998 when she eloped to England with husband Greg. They were married in Westminster - the town hall not the Abbey - lived on tinned soup for a month so they could afford to spend their wedding night in The Dorchester, and then flew out the next day to honeymoon in Paris.

She is a sucker for happy endings, heroines who have a secret stash of chocolate, and heroes who know how to laugh. When she's not writing she can usually be found with her nose buried in a book.