Julia Williams was born in London in 1965, the youngest of twins and one of eight children. She attended St Michaels Grammar School, Finchley before studying English at Liverpool University, where she met her husband, Dave, a dentist. They married in 1989. Following university, Julia studied at the London College of Printing, before embarking on a publishing career at Routledge. In 1990, she joined Scholastic Children's Books, where she stayed for eight years. During that time she ran the very successful Point list. Her proudest moment as an editor was editing The Sterkarm Handshake by Susan Price which won the 1998 Guardian Fiction award. In 1998 following the birth of her second daughter, Julia decided to pursue a freelance career. In 1998 following the birth of her second daughter, Julia decided to pursue a freelance career. At the same time she enrolled on a writing course, joined the Romantic Novelist's Association and started writing her first novel. It took her two more years to complete it and get herself an agent, who signed her up the week before the birth of her third daughter. A further six years was to elapse before Julia completed Pastures New, and in the meantime she has also had two picture books published by Evans Publishers, completed two children's novels and self published a book about running the London Marathon. Julia is proud to be a member of the Romantic Novelist's Association and she blogs regularly at "http""//maniacmum.blogspot.com. She has now published ten books and sold over half a million copies of her paperbacks.