Emma was born and raised in Edinburgh. As a child she was a bookworm, and especially liked historical fiction – maybe that was why she chose to study history at university. Afterwards she lived and worked in London, Colorado (USA) and Cambridge, before settling in Leeds in Yorkshire. She still likes to go to America when she can (especially to California in the winter months). She is now a full-time author and lives with her husband and daughter. Emma has won the Rotherham Children's Book Award and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award.