Sue was born in England, and grew up in the town of Rugby in Warwickshire. She studied business and marketing at Kingston University, and then spent several years working as a press officer at London Zoo. Passionate about wildlife and conservation, Sue spent much of her time promoting London Zoo's work in the field of breeding endangered species. The fun side of her job included organising special events, filming and photocalls, and attending tourism exhibitions with boa constrictors and giant spiders for company. Inspired to see wildlife in its native habitat, Sue and her husband set off to travel the world, beginning with Africa, then on to Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, and home a year and a half later via Canada in the middle of winter. After a stint working in PR for a large corporate (to pay off the travelling debts!) Sue moved into publishing, combining her love of writing and wildlife by working as an editor specialising in natural history at Dorling Kindersley Children's Books. (This allowed her to spend much time back at London Zoo supervising photo sessions.) In the mid 1990s, Sue and her husband decided it was time for a family. Knowing that New Zealand would be a great place to bring up children, they took the plunge and moved down under. Within a year their son was born, followed four years later by a daughter. Sue continues to work as an editor and writer specialising in non-fiction children's books, and has edited many New Zealand schoolbooks. The Ghosts of Young Nick's Head is Sue's first novel for children. In her spare time Sue loves to read, write, garden - and travel when she can.