Helen Mortimer grew up in Hertfordshire and as a child she loved the preparations for Christmas, especially searching local hedgerows for holly and ivy to make into a wreath and decorating the tree on Christmas Eve while listening to carols. Helen now lives in Oxfordshire where she works as a children's books editor and has also had some of her own titles published including The Winter Wish (HarperCollins) and Omar, the Bees and Me (Owlet Press).