Tetyana Denford (née Bisyk) was born and raised in New York, the only child of immigrants that had fled Europe after World War II. She spoke Ukrainian up until the age of 6, and then, once at school, learned the hard way that the letter “v” was never pronounced as “w”. She went on to learn not only English but also Italian, Spanish and Russian, as well as speaking Ukrainian fluently to this day.

She won writing competitions at school, was published several times in the local paper (The Post Star), and with a partial writing and language scholarship, attended Middlebury College. Whilst studying, she attended graduate literature programs abroad in Italy and Oxford, graduated with a BA (Hons) and then moved to Manhattan, freelancing for Elle and Vogue, writing copy for an online jewellery company, and eventually starting a career in media and advertising as a creative assistant.

She moved to London in 2007 to continue her job in media. She began blogging an ‘ex-pat in London’ journal, writing for Selfish Mother, Medium and Teach Secondary, as well as some translation work for Frontline news. In 2015, she received a call from her mother that released a family secret, along with previously unknown stories from her grandmother’s past… and this would compel her to write her debut novel (as of yet unpublished).

She is currently writing freelance and lives with her three children and a very tall Englishman who likes to give her flowers (which she always forgets to water).