I won my first writing prize at the age of six, for a review of a school trip to The Nutcracker. But things plateaued for a while after that.

Finally, after years of teaching and talking about becoming a writer, I decided to study creative writing with the Open University. I learned a huge amount, and then won two prizes in short story competitions. Buoyed up by my success, I embarked on my first novel, a historical story set in the 1920s. I finished it, then put it away in a drawer and that was that.

Hankering after adventure, I moved abroad to teach, and after several years of working, adventuring and blogging in Asia I returned to England.  I reread my son’s childhood murder mystery novel and decided to take the story, and the wonderful characters he’d created, forward in another book. Murder at the Herald is the result, and I hope you enjoy it.

I am currently redrafting my historical novel and dreaming up new plots for a series of murder mysteries. You can catch up with me on my website https://www.louisebarden.com/