CHARIS COTTER grew up beside a cemetery and has been living with ghosts ever since. She studied English in university and went to drama school in London, England. She is the award-winning author of The Swallow: A Ghost Story, The Painting and The Ghost Road. Charis loves all the places that ghosts like to linger--old houses, cemeteries, forgotten paths and the wild Newfoundland coastline. She has worked extensively in schools and libraries from coast to coast, using drama and storytelling to bring her books to life. Her performances of Newfoundland ghost stories has thrilled audiences of all ages, from Florida to Vancouver Island. She lives at the end of a road beside the ocean, in one of the most haunted parts of Newfoundland.