Susan Gale

Hi, I'm Susan Gale, the author of A Change in Fashion. Like Holly, the central character in my book, I grew up in the Sixties in North Yorkshire and worked in France. I have drawn on my background to create the atmosphere and sense of period of my book, but not everything that happens to Holly happened to me!

I went to school in Guisborough, a small market town at the foot of the moors and then read French at university in Leicester. During the Sixties I often visited Paris, the Riviera, Provence and Normandy (all places which appear in my novel) and worked in 1966-7 in Lyon, where I met my German husband.

The Sixties were a great time to be young, a period of optimism with sweeping changes in many aspects of life, and I have tried to convey the excitement of this decade in my story.

My interest in fashion began when I was a teenager. Like most girls I often made my own clothes, copying designs of Mary Quant or Biba, since I didn't like (or couldn't afford) the styles in the shops. Nowadays I love vintage fashion of the Sixties and before.

Today I live with my husband in the country near Hamburg. Since retiring from teaching English I'm free to concentrate on my writing and plan to write a second novel soon. (Watch this space!!) Apart from that I love visiting with my two little grandchildren in Bavaria, walking my Labrador dog, cooking and pottering around in my English-style garden.

You can find out more about me on Facebook or by visiting my website www.susan-gale.com