Alison Roberts

Alison was born in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her father's medical career took her overseas at the age of five, and she started her schooling in London before moving to Washington, D.C. Eventually the family, including three brothers, returned to Dunedin, where Alison finished her schooling and then trained as a primary school teacher.

A teaching position in the north island township of Napier led to a whirlwind romance and marriage to Mark, a young doctor who is now a professor. Mark's career meant a move to Christchurch, where a teaching position was unavailable, so Alison worked part-time as a cardiology research technician in a hospital and indulged academic interests by taking university courses in early European history and in philosophy. Two years in Glasgow, Scotland, followed and provided the perfect opportunity to write her first novel.

Alison currently resides in central Christchurch, just over the road from the often breathtakingly beautiful Hagley Park. Her writing companion is an Irish wolfhound called Rya who allows only a solid morning's work before insisting that Alison gets some fresh air and exercise in the park.