Saskia Van Der ZeeSaskia van der Zee first fell in love with the rugged beauty of the Shropshire Hills through the Lone Pine adventure stories she read as a child. Today, she lives in their heart, and their wild beauty inspires her writing. Her love of crime fiction bgan with her grandfather's old Agatha Christie paperbacks, some of the few English language books at the family home in Bilthoven, The Netherlands. From Christie, she progressed through the work of Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, Patricia Cornwell, Ian Rankin, Colin Dexter, and many more, a lifelong study that would eventually allow her to fuse her two passions: the Shropshire hills and crime fiction.After gaining an undergraduate degree in Medieval History from the University of Oxford, she took time to raise her children before becoming a teacher, specialising in English and Music. Her love of singing later prompted her to become a voice coach, and she spent several years working with singers of all ages. An avid curiosity for human and animal wellbeing also led her to train as an equine massage therapist and to qualify in human injury rehabilitation and various forms of energy healing.Throughout her diverse career, Saskia was always writing, at first creating Malcolm Saville fan fiction for her children before branching out into her own worlds and characters. For years, she had no inclination to publish her work, but when her children went to university, she sought a new direction. After enrolling in a Creative Writing MA and gaining a distinction, she grew used to sharing her writing with others, and publishing seemed the next logical step. With a passion for both control and learning new skills, she decided to embrace the path of independent publishing and is having a ball.Saskia is autistic with ADHD and regards both conditions as the superpowers that have enabled her to fit so much into life and to embrace it with such enthusiasm. Her favorite companions are her partner, their combined sets of children, their horses, cats, and dogs. Read More Read Less