About Karen Saunders - Writer of Fiction for Children and Teens

About me:

I grew up in Bedfordshire, and after finishing school studied English Lit with teaching at Warwick. Although I qualified as a primary teacher, I decided that wasn't for me, so instead spent the next few years doing a variety of various jobs, both temporary and permanent, which included making and stuffing crackers full of beauty products, a PR account executive, selling Christmas hampers, writing copy for a mail order catalogue specialising in environmentally friendly products, a lot of telephone answering, and doing the PR/Marketing for a children's picture book company. I left that last job to do an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and haven't really ventured properly back into an office since. I work part time doing admin, and the rest of the time write for myself and several freelance clients.

I now live in Bath with my husband, where I dream of owning both a house and dog. My dog obsession has got so bad I now have to be dragged away from passing Labradors.

Stuff I like:

Books, reading, hanging out with friends, going to the cinema, travelling to countries far far away, the beach, sunsets, walking, Labradors, potatoes in all their different forms, magazines, sunshine, cherries, goats, guinea pigs and the countryside.

Recommended reads:

Here's a random selection of my all time, very favourite books for all ages: Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, Each Peach Pear Plum by Alan Ahlberg, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.

Authors to check out:

Marie-Louise Jensen, Joanna Nadin, Luisa Plaja – because they're my friends and fab!