Catherine Alliott is a well-known English author, celebrated for her contemporary women's fiction novels. Born and raised in Hertfordshire, England, she went on to attend Warwick University before moving to London where she worked as a copywriter in an advertising agency. Alliott's foray into writing was not initially planned; she began writing a novel under her desk to relieve boredom from writing advertising copy, particularly for soap powder. She had not considered publication at first, but her plans changed when her boss thought she was not fully committed to her work and let her go. This unexpected turn of events galvanized Alliott to finish her novel, and she started working as a freelancer while pregnant. When her son was born, she took the opportunity to revisit her work, using a computer her brother had given her to put the draft together.
Alliott's first novel, "The Old Girl Network," was an instant bestseller in the UK, and she has since published fourteen novels, including "A Crowded Marriage," "The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton," "Wish You Were Here," and "Rosie Meadows Regrets." She currently lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and their three children. She continues to write from the comfort of her garden or sofa at her home in a rural spot on the Herts/Bucks border, surrounded by a menagerie of animals, including dogs, chicken, sheep, and horses. At last count, the beating hearts on her property totaled eighty-seven, including her husband. Alliott's novels are published by Penguin Random House internationally and by No Shooz Publishing in America. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages and have sold over 3 million copies worldwide. She writes her books in note pads with her favorite pen, either on the sofa or in the garden.