Cliff McNish is a renowned English author, celebrated for his captivating work in the realm of young adult and children's fantasy novels. Born in Sunderland, a city in the north-east of England, McNish spent a significant portion of his life in the southeast of the country. As a child, he had a deep love for the outdoors, particularly the woods near his home, which often left him covered in scratches from his explorations.
McNish's love for reading was sparked when he received C.S. Lewis's "The Magician's Nephew" from his English teacher, Mrs. Baldwin. This book, and the other Narnia novels, left a lasting impression on him. His journey to becoming an author was quite organic, as he was in the habit of creating short, humorous stories for his daughter, Rachel. When she expressed interest in a story about a particularly nasty witch, McNish put pen to paper, and what started as a small idea bloomed into his first novel, "The Doomspell."
McNish's writing career took off from there, and he delved deeper into fantasy with "The Silver Sequence," a series he considers his best and most original work. He then ventured into the horror genre, penning ghost novels such as "Breathe" and "The Hunting Ground," aiming to give his readers a good fright. McNish believes that the imagination is a valuable gift, and he expresses this belief through his novels, which are a testament to his rich imagination and storytelling abilities.