Gilli Allan began to write in childhood - a hobby pursued throughout her teenage. The impulse was (and still is) to create the books that she wanted to read. Writing was only abandoned when she went to Art College, and real life supplanted the fiction. After a few false starts she worked longest and most happily as an advertising illustrator, and only began writing again when she became a mother.
Preferring to write about a world she can recognise and identify with, Gilli's stories follow an unconventional path through the complexities of modern relationships, arriving at sometimes unpredictable, but believable and satisfying resolutions.
In real life the right thing to do is not always black or white. People are not neatly divided into heroes or villains. Sex is not always awesome, it can be awkward and embarrassing and it has consequences. And you don't always fall in love with the `right' person. This is a world that is true, a world that is sometimes messy, a world that many readers will relate to.
Gilli's last three novels - TORN, LIFE CLASS and FLY OR FALL - have been published by Accent Press.
Still a keen artist, Gilli has recently moved into the illustration of children's books, and has provided archaeological illustrations for history books. She still draws and paints for fun, and regularly attends a life-class near her home in Gloucestershire, where she lives with her husband, Geoff.
