Meryl Hodgson grew up in Swansea, South Wales, the younger daughter of schoolteachers who instilled in her a great love of reading and the written Word. Although she worked in banking for most of her adult life, she often found herself creating different fictional characters for children and would sometimes make up stories about them for her young nieces and nephews, which they always enjoyed. Although she wanted to write, she found that work had its own demands. In 2000, her daughter was born, and she decided to give up work to become a full-time mum. Her daughter also loved reading, particularly mermaid stories, but even though there were many picture books about these creatures, there were very few novels. Meryl found the time and inspiration she needed, and so, with the encouragement of her family, her first childrenтАЩs mystery novel was born. Meryl lives with her husband, daughter, two cats, and a dog in a beautiful seaside village in Gower; and she includes in her list of interests stained-glass work, drawing, reading, singing in the local choir, and walking the dog.