A long time native of London I now live and work in Singapore with my zoo of pets. Some would say I ran away from high tax and gloomy weather. I would say their powers of deduction might well be accurate. But you know low tax, low crime and hot weather every day can make a woman yearn for the edginess and excitement of London enough to bring it to life in the written word.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and the imagination flourish.

Betty Byers is not just my pen name but was my mum's name and I use it in tribute and memory to a woman who gave me my love of books.