Alette J. Willis was born in Oxford, England, to Canadian parents. Her family returned to Ottawa, Canada when she was three years old. She moved back across the Atlantic three years ago, settling in Edinburgh with her husband and their big black poodle. She is a graduate of the New Hampshire Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop. After gaining some success writing short stories for adults (one of which was published in an award-winning Canadian anthology) she turned to her first love, children's fiction. For the past two years she has also indulged her obsession with stories by volunteering as a Talking Trees Storyteller at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Alette holds a PhD in human geography and environmental studies. When she is not peddling stories or walking her dog through city parks, she can be found at the University of Edinburgh where she works as a teaching fellow and researcher.