Ruth Snowden has been a writer since she was eight, when she began to write stories and poetry. But it wasn’t until much later in life, when she was given an old computer by a friend, that she began to write professionally.

Her first book Working With Dreams was published in 1999, under the name of Ruth Berry. Several more non-fiction books followed, including Teach Yourself Freud and Teach Yourself Jung, both published by Hodder. She also had a poetry collection Green Dusk for Dreams published by Wild Women Press.

Meanwhile she was secretly indulging an urge to write fiction and The Island that Wasn’t There is her first fully-fledged novel. Her inspiration flows from many sources, especially childhood memories; local history and yarns; and the mysterious world of folklore and myth.

When she needs to come up for air she walks in nature, does yoga, plays music, or goes into a trance in her summer house creating art work. In her spare time she helps out at the World Owl Trust at Muncaster Castle. She lives by the sea in Cumbria with her human family and a black cat called Purdy.

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