Heather Burnside is a successful urban fiction writer, hailing from Manchester, United Kingdom. She grew up in Gorton, a working-class area of the city that was the original location for the TV series "Shameless." After moving to a new housing development, Burnside spent her teenage years on one of Manchester's toughest estates, which became the headquarters for a prominent gang in the 1990s. The estate was known for its shootings and drug-related problems, and Burnside draws heavily on this background as the setting for many of her novels.
After taking a career break to raise two children, Burnside decided to pursue her passion for writing and enrolled in a creative writing course. During this time, she had many articles published in well-known magazines and ran a writing services business before focusing on her novels. Burnside now works full-time on her novels from her home in Manchester, which she shares with her two grown-up children.
Burnside's writing is heavily influenced by her upbringing in Manchester's inner city suburbs, and she is known for her gritty, realistic portrayal of urban life. Her novels offer a unique insight into the challenges and struggles faced by those living in poverty and are often set against the backdrop of gang violence and drug addiction. Despite the heavy themes, Burnside's writing is characterized by her ability to create complex and relatable characters that readers can't help but root for. Overall, Heather Burnside is a talented and compelling writer who uses her own experiences to create powerful and thought-provoking novels.