Debbie Bennett

Debbie has been writing since primary school and handwrote her first novel aged 14 in a fancy ring-binder. After that inspiring debut, she wrote several (mostly unpublishable) novels on a manual typewriter and later computer, until an agency contract in the 1990s led her to think she might actually be good at it.

She’s worked in law enforcement for over 25 years, in a variety of different roles (both front-line and back-office), which may be why the darker side of life tends to emerge in her writing. In 2005, she was long-listed (top 25) for the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Award, which gave her the self-confidence to independently-publish the crime novel Hamelin’s Child on kindle and other e-outlets in 2011, closely followed by a young adult fantasy Edge of Dreams and a collection of short (and not-so-short) stories Maniac & Other Stories. Other books followed and Debbie has now started publishing paperbacks of some of her books due to local demand.

She spent 9 years editing and publishing anthologies, newsletters and other publications for the British Fantasy Society, and has had numerous short stories in print in a variety of outlets from award-nominated anthologies to women’s magazines. She’s also reviewed for the BFS and Starburst magazine, and was a reader for a national short story competition for many years.

At present Debbie plays with police computers during the day. The rest of the time she’s working on a couple of other novels and several short stories. Her website can be found at www.debbiebennett.co.uk