Readers:

	Margaret James		Marina Oliver
	Trisha Ashley		Andrew Puckett

Margaret was born and grew up in Hereford, an ancient and beautifully preserved mediaeval city in the heart of the English Marches. She left home to study English at London University, then went to work in Oxford, where she met her husband. She was a civil servant for several years, but after she got married and eventually found herself at home with two babies, she started writing articles for magazines.

Her first published fiction was short stories for UK women's magazines, but she went on to write serials, had her first novel accepted, and has been writing for publication ever since.

She writes regularly for Writing Magazine, doing the Fiction Focus column on all aspects of current fiction, and also writing two author profiles each month. This involves interviewing all kinds of writers in all genres and, as a writer herself, she finds this endlessly fascinating!

Margaret has been the Organiser of the RNA 's New Writers' Scheme, the brilliantly successful international competition for unpublished romantic and women's interest authors.

A journalist, freelance editor and author of many published articles on the art of writing, Margaret is keen to discover new writing talent and help new authors succeed. She is in regular contact with agents and editors, and is very much aware of market trends. She reads for several short story competitions and has taught creative writing for many years.

When she is not reading or writing she is out in her garden trying to bring order out of chaos, or she is on her way to Italy, her favourite place.

In 2010 the Romantic Novelists' Assocation will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with the publication of a collection of short stories written by members. As well as stories by famous names such as Joanna Trollope, Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews and Elizabeth Chadwick, stories by Storytracks readers Margaret James and Trisha Ashley are also featured in this gorgeously produced anthology.

Margaret is the author of thirteen published novels, both contemporary and historical - her latest "The Penny Bangle" was published by Robert Hale in October 2007.

When nineteen-year-old munitions worker Cassie Taylor leaves Birmingham to become a land girl in Dorset, she assumes she will be in for a quiet and boring time.

But when she arrives at the Denham family's farm, she meets Robert and Stephen Denham, army officer twins still convalescing after being wounded at Dunkirk.

At first, Cassie is drawn to lively, friendly Stephen, but then she falls deeply in love with his brother, Robert. When Robert returns to active service, Cassie joins the ATS, and when she meets Robert again in Alexandria, he asks her to marry him.

Then Robert is reported missing in action, and Cassie finds that Stephen expects to take his brother's place in her heart.

Some recently published books by Margaret are listed briefly under Recent Books By Us, or visit Margaret's website at www.margaretjames.com

Marina Oliver

Marina Oliver has had over fifty novels published (under several pen names, as well as her own). She is also the author of six non-fiction books, including four titles in the How To series on Successful Writing, and a Study Guide on "Writing Historical Fiction" for Studymates. She has edited her own quarterly magazine, and also many books and newsletters, mainly for educational organisations.

She has recently been editing a new fiction imprint, Transita.

She has taught creative writing on many courses, run dozens of workshops, and been a lecturer at residential conferences and at literary festivals. She has helped many authors to achieve publication. She reads for and judges short story competitions, reviews historical novels, and has done appraisals for (among others) a prestigious Regional Arts board. She has been a reader for the RNA New Writers' Scheme for more than twenty years, and spent three years as the Scheme's organiser. She has also served as Chairman of the RNA, edited their Newsletter for 3 years, and has been elected a Vice-President.

Marina's latest book, a Regency for Robert Hale, A Disgraceful Affair , was published September 2008.

Marina's previous book, also Regency for Robert Hale, The Accidental Marriage, was published March 2008, and was included on the Long List for The Romantic Novel of the Year 2009.

For reviews of her recent novels see Marina's website www.marina-oliver.net.

Marina is married with four children. She taught Economics and Politics to adults in further education, but these days she writes, teaches creative writing, and enjoys travelling abroad - when she has time!

Some recently published books by Marina are listed briefly under Recent Books By Us, or visit Marina's website at www.marina-oliver.net

Writing Magazine, October - November 2003, says Marina Oliver's best-selling How To book, Write and Sell Your Novel, has 'become a classic of its kind. Now in its 4th edition, it is a complete self-help book for beginner novelists. This new edition is updated to include tips on using the Internet, and to show you how new technology can help you.'

From people Marina has helped:

From a non-fiction writer: 'Just a thank you again for putting me on to the idea of a book about handling money for the national curriculum. The book has now been published...Thank you so much for the lead.'

From a crime novelist: 'I thought you might like to know how useful the appraisal has been to me. The evaluation was a source of very good advice and - just as importantly - of encouragement. In the light of the comments in it I rewrote my novel and sent it to the agents suggested...and I now have a contract with the publishers...quite apart from the good practical advice, the positive tone of the report helped to keep me going.'

Trisha Ashley was born in St Helens, Lancashire and studied architectural glass at Swansea Art College. Since then she has supported her writing habit by taking on a diverse series of part-time jobs, including working for a lead light maker and plumber.

She has now given up her fascinating but time consuming hobbies of divorce and house moving and settled in North Wales, though her only claim to the area is a Welsh grandmother. The combination of her Celtic creative streak and her typically Lancashire dark sense of humour in adversity has made her what she is today…whatever that is.

Trisha writes occasional articles, has several years' experience of manuscript assessment and been a judge for both short story and novel competitions - in February 2008, she was one of the judges for the Romantic Novelists' Association Romance Prize.

She loves exploring food, gardens and old houses, and working two days a week for the National Trust at Penrhyn castle neatly combines at least two of those interests. These preoccupations are a recurring theme in her novels and her particular love of old roses is evidenced in her newest paperback, Sowing Secrets, which is set in the Conwy valley in North Wales.

When she has a little spare time, Trisha loves to walk on the nearby beach, and also paint, mainly portraits in oils.

Trisha is the author of seven contemporary romantic comedies and Avon will publish her next, The Winter's Tale, in November 2008. Her latest paperback from Avon is Sowing Secrets (formerly published in hardback as The Generous Gardener), and in 2008 she had a new book out with Severn House, called Happy Endings.

She has also written Regency novels (she always knew her extensive collection of Regency newspapers would come in useful one day!), the most recent being Lord Rayven's Revenge, published by Hale. In Lord Rayven's Revenge she combines a deep interest in the early Gothic novel with her fascination for Regency England, creating a lively and unforgettable literary heroine.

Trisha Ashley is a member of the Society of Authors, the Welsh Academi, the Romantic Novelists' Association and the Society for Women Writers and Journalists.

Visit Trisha's website at www.trishaashley.com. There you can also sign up for her quarterly newsletter, Skint Old Northern Woman News - and you don't have to be skint, old, northern or even female to get it, just have a good sense of humour!

Andrew Puckett

Andrew Puckett was born in Sherborne, Dorset and grew up on his parents' farms. The first was in one of the most isolated part of Dorset, the second under the shadow of the cathedral on the outskirts of Salisbury. He went to school in Salisbury, worked at the local brewery and then in laboratories at Porton Down, Taunton and London. He then moved to Oxford, where he was Microbiologist at the Blood Transfusion Centre for fifteen years.

He now lives in Taunton, where he divides his time between writing and teaching.

His first crime novel, Bloodstains, drew on his experiences in Blood Transfusion. He has since published ten more, all with a medical or scientific background, and has been teaching Creative Writing for twelve years. His latest book is The Old Man's Friend.

He is married with two daughters, both of whom will probably turn out to be better writers than himself.

Spare time is spent either reading, or on, in and by water: boating, swimming, fishing, walking, camping.