About Jemma

Jemma Spark was brought up on the west coast of Cornwall, riding her beloved pony, Spin, across the moors. Her parents were not horsey and there were no opportunities for her to compete in gymkhanas or shows. After school, she moved up the Scottish Highlands to work as a nanny, before going down to London to study sociology, focusing on the post-war years in Britain. After she completed her degree, she travelled the world, living in South America, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, landing in Berlin.

 

When she returned to England, inspired by Jill’s childhood in Chatton, she moved to Oxfordshire to live in a cottage in a leafy lane and continued to work on her Jill series. In order to write the 11th book in her Jill series she flew back to Australia and stayed in the Snowy Mountains region. She spent many days tramping across the plains and climbing bush-clad mountains watching the brumbies. She left the day before the cull started when they started shooting the brumbies from helicopters. Presently, she is living in Sydney enjoying an entirely different lifestyle.