Catherine A Wilson

‘My grandmother was a wonderful story teller and I count myself fortunate to have been able to spend time with her and my great uncles and aunts, who loved nothing more than a good pot of tea with added lashings of gossip. It is their legacy that fuelled my genealogical addiction as I strove to identify fact from fiction and then record the information for posterity. From this sprouted my love of history, the urge to research and write and, eventually, to develop my own stories.

At the suggestion of Anna Jacobs, another highly successful and talented Australian novelist, I joined Romance Writers Australia. One keystroke error placed me on a chat loop where I met my namesake, Cathy T. After making a crass remark concerning my rather plain name, our friendship was born. We began to regularly email one another, offering words of encouragement (the publishing world is a tough place for the uninitiated —believe me,) when Cathy T came upon the idea to create a novel along the lines of our real-time friendship. Hence, Lions and Lilies was born.’ Our first novel 'The Lily and the Lion' was published in 2012 and the 'The Order of the Lily' in 2013. We are currently editing the third in the series, 'The Gilded Crown' and plan to release 'The Roar of the Lion' in 2015.

I was born in London, England, but have lived in Australia since the early 1970's, growing up in and around the leafy suburbs of Eastwood, Epping and Dundas. Without a particular path in mind I simply took the first job I was offered, which happened to be the position of Layout Artist for a well known map publisher, but changed my mind and selected a career in nursing. I later enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, before resigning to a quiet life at home.

I live in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, with my husband and two beautiful children, several Jack Russells, a large flock of flighty chickens, goldfish and budgies. When not writing (which is not often) I like to garden, read books, shop, read books, drink copious cups of strong coffee with friends and read plenty of books.