Alison Rose Knight
Who I am and where I come from
A little history lesson
I was born in London a long time ago, spent a year in the US as an exchange student when I was eighteen, and have lived in and around the West of England ever since. I'm married, have a son, a daughter and two grandsons. I live in a small town in Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor.
I've always loved books, winning my first prize for reading at infant school. My award was a book called 'The Elves and the Shoemaker'. I was a devoted member of The Puffin Club, and spent my pocket money on Ladybird Books.
In my teens, I discovered a book called 'The Green Bronze Mirror' by Lynne Ellison, which she wrote when she was just fourteen. It made me realise that I wanted to write books too, and if she could do it, then so could I! The trouble was, I was too busy reading books, getting through school and chasing boys to actually find the time to write.
I eventually started writing in my mid-twenties, when my husband bought me an Amstrad word processor.
My first book, Sunflower Summer, was pretty bad, as were my other efforts in those days. None were published. I had lots of ideas, but they never seemed to translate into readable stories.
I eventually decided I’d better learn more about the craft of writing, so in my forties I went back to being a student.
Today, I have a first class BA(Hons) in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, and an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University. It took me seven years of part-time study, whilst continuing to work full-time. It was tough, but I loved every minute of it. And the hard work started to pay off. In 2012, my prize-winning autobiographical piece, ’A Flawed Reflection’, was published in the ‘Body Gossip’ anthology, and in August 2014 I signed contracts for the publication of three books with Accent Press Ltd. My subsequent novels, MINE, THE LEGACY, and THE HIDDEN were all published by Darkstroke Books between November 2020 and September 2021.
I’m a member of The Society of Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. I work as a freelance editor for Betterwrite Literary Consultancy. I also run Imagine Creative Writing Workshops and Retreats with fellow author Jenny Kane.
I’ve shared a lot of love, laughter and constructive criticism with other writers, for which I am eternally grateful. Long may it continue. I hope you enjoy my stories.
