McGavin, Fiona: - Fiona McGavin was born and brought up in the Scottish Highlands but now lives just outside Milton Keynes. She has a degree in history from Stirling University and is currently studying (very slowly) for an MA in Creative writing with the Open University. As a child her parents surrounded her with books and encouraged her to read and write voraciously. Early influences include Tolkien, Richard Adams and Mary Stewart as well as medieval Scottish history. When she discovered Tad Williams, Stephen King, Storm Constantine and Elizabeth Hand in her early twenties, the nature of her writing took a darker turn. She has always been interested in folklore, magic and anything spooky or odd and is particularly interested in how folklore and mythologies reinvent themselves to remain relevant in through the ages. She works in an office, enjoys trips to the garden centre and lives with an elderly black and white rescue cat called Sophie-Bananas.