Lindsey Davis was born and brought up in Birmingham. After taking a degree in English Literature at Oxford University, she joined the civil service and worked within it for thirteen years. She wrote her first novel to cheer herself up, and when it won the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, she was encouraged to leave her job and become a full-time writer. At first, she wrote romantic fiction, including serials for Woman's Realm magazine but she became interested in Roman history. Thus began her series of novels featuring Marcus Didius Falco. Lucy Fleming has been an avid doodler and bookworm since early childhood. Drawing always seemed like so much fun, but she never dreamed it could be a full-time job! She studied art and practiced drawing every day, and in no time, she went on to graduate from the University of Lincoln (UK), having specialized in illustration. She leapt straight into a career as a professional children's book illustrator and hasn't looked back since. She lives and works in a small town in England, surrounded by farmland and trees and accompanied by a little, black cat. When not at her desk, she prefers nothing more than to be outdoors in the sunshine with a hot cup of tea.