Rosemary Hillyard

Rosemary Hillyard's earliest memories are of wanting to be a writer. As Charles Dickens was an ancestor, perhaps the desire was in her genes!

She won a few prizes for stories as a child, but adults told Rosemary she needed to earn a living and should keep story writing as a hobby. So she trained as a journalist on her local paper in south London and stuck to factual writing for 25 years. She qualified as an industrial editor, producing staff publications for major companies such as Barclays Bank, Avis, MetalBox, Coca-Cola Schweppes and the Royal Institute of Marketing.

Later she trained as a financial adviser, and ran a successful business as an independent mortgage consultant for ten years.

Her father’s death from cancer at only 58 was the catalyst which started Rosemary writing again imaginatively. ‘Suddenly I was aware how short life can be. The death of a parent also makes you realise you are next in line.’

The germ of an idea for historical, romantic fiction with a twist in the tale started to grow. Now, the first book in this Edwardian Timeslip Series, 'A Time To Be', has been followed by 'A Time to Grieve'.