It was never finished – she lost interest, but even so, it had sown its seeds. I’m going to be an author.’ I followed the first few chapters of Down the Tomato Hole (based on some sort of game she and Theresa had played when they were small) with interest. But it was also Janet who came home one day and announced: ‘I’ve decided. They weren’t always kind! Janet in particular was a tease, often drawing a character with a mean, warty face and presenting him as my future husband, which sometimes made me cry. From an early age they read to me, and even made up stories of their own (usually starring me as the heroine)! Theresa was a gifted storyteller, and both were good at drawing, so I often got illustrations to accompany these tales.

My two older sisters, Theresa and Janet, were a huge influence on my wish to be an author and illustrator. In celebration of the release of 13 Secrets, the third book in the trilogy, we have the wonderful Michelle Harrison for a guest post and a giveaway of the entire trilogy. Both Smugglers read and loved 13 Treasures, and lucky UK-based Ana finished the trilogy and loved it even more. Michelle Harrison is the lovely author of the 13 Treasures books, a young adult trilogy about a girl with the ability to see fairies, and her twisted family legacy. It can be about their new book, series or about their career as a whole. The cool thing is that the writers are given free reign so they can go wild and write about anything they want.

“ Inspirations and Influences” is a series of articles in which we invite authors to write guest posts talking about their…well, Inspirations and Influences.

Snow queen by emma harrison