I am British (well Scottish actually!) and have lived with my husband in Italy since 1994, first in Umbria and now in Tuscany ââ¬â in a part nobody has heard of called the Casentino. We gave up well-paid teacher training jobs in the UK because we fell in love with a house ââ¬â well, ruin - in Italy. We learned a variety of skills while in our abandoned farmhouse, among then plumbing, glazing, tiling, bricklaying and the much neglected art of living on a shoestring. Writing and translating on the Internet helped us finance our Italian dreams, and I am now the author of many newspaper, magazine and web articles as well as over 20 books on English as a Foreign Language and a children's non fiction book about Italy. I also came up with the idea for and edited the best selling UK glossy magazine ITALY, writing and commissioning for five years from 2001 to 2006. Now as a freelance, I write everything from seo copy for websites to fiction and enjoy working as a ghost writer for a number of clients. I love people's stories and what makes them change their lives. We all love those kind of stories I think. I am currently working on a young adult novel in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre ââ¬â a ghost writing gig for a US client, a series of nine novels for an Australian client, a novel for a Zambian lady in Italy and am about to start a project for a German client. I love the international aspect to my work. My special areas of interest are the paranormal, science, animals (I have dogs, cats and a crow) nature, alternative medicine, the power of the mind and the internet. Oh ââ¬â and Italy, of course.