Jane West

Jane West's lucky number is 13 – which could explain a lot. Born on the 13th of March sometime in the last century and married on the 13th of December, Jane has done nothing but make things up for quite a long time now – which is also called writing stories. She reckons she has the best job in the world."I have always written. As a five year old, I was taken to see the Tutankhamen exhibition in London. Walking into the darkened museum rooms and seeing the golden boy-king's mask made me feel like Howard Carter discovering the tomb for the first time. I wrote about it when I got back to school and the Reception teacher, Mrs Peck, told my parents that I would be a writer. My mum still has the story.

"I was also inspired by an author visit when I was 10 – the world famous fantasy writer Alan Garner who visited my primary school in Alderley Edge. Remembering his oral story-telling from 30 years ago still sends a tingle down my spine. What a marvellous man and astonishing writer."

She has written over eighty books on a wide range of subjects that fascinate her from ancient civilizations to cage fighting. She won the Holyer An Gof Best Children's Book for her historical novel 'Pip of Pengersick – A Smuggler's Tale'.

She lives near Pengersick Castle in Cornwall which featured on TV's Most Haunted. She is sure this has nothing to do with the stories she writes.