Jessica Steele

Jessica Steele was born on May 9, 1933 in the elegant Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa. She has two super brothers, Colin and George, and alovely sister, Elizabeth. She was a delicate child and missed a lot of school. In fact, she left school at aged 14, when she was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. At 16, she started work as a junior clerk. In 1967,Jessica married with her husband, Peter and within a very short space of time they had moved from her hometown to the lovely area where they nowlive. Their house is built into the side of a hill, and has beautiful views over more hills and valleys. Her brothers and her sister are very close andshe has plenty of nephews and nieces to make up for the fact that she and her husband have no children of their own. Both she and her husband are morethan a little dog-oriented, and their current dog is a Staffordshire bull terrier named Florence. Florence is gorgeous. She loves everybody but, sinceshe is 40 pounds of dynamite and would hurl her boisterous self at everyone she meets - given half a chance - she has to be restrained (as much aspossible). She is fun.

Her husband spurred Jessica on to her writing career, giving her every support while she did what she considers her five-year apprenticeship (therejection years) while learning how to write. She published her first books in 1979. Jessica has tried using a typewriter, but it just doesn't work forher. She is much happier writing in longhand, and in actual fact has a dozen or so fountain pens filled and ready to go at the start of any one session.A friend has a secretarial agency and, after deciphering Jessica's writing, returns an immaculately typed manuscript. To gain authentic background forher books, she has travelled and researched in Greece, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Japan.