I was born in Cardiff, but from the age of five I went to live with my grandparents and grew up in an isolated cottage in the Dorset countryside.

As a very lonely only child I had plenty of time to read and also to dream up stories which I told to my imaginary friends.

When I left Gillingham Grammar School I went back to Cardiff and worked as a clerk in the City Hall. Then romance took over and I married a Grenadier Guardsman. I moved from Cardiff to his home on Merseyside and grew to know the Wallasey and Liverpool area very well indeed.

As a freelance I wrote for the Liverpool Echo and national magazines on fashion, homemaking and health topics under the by-line Marion Harris.

Ten years and three children later we moved to Buckinghamshire where we have lived ever since. My children have all made their homes in the area and we now have six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Writing has always been the mainstay of my life. As well as articles on a wide variety of topics I wrote a number of non-fiction books, but most of all I enjoy writing fiction.

Since 2000 - writing as Rosie Harris - I have concentrated on sagas. I have set these in the 20’s and 30’s because it is a period that I find fascinating. It was a time when working class men were earning pitifully low wages and a great many families were forced to live in overcrowded conditions. The women faced such a variety of hardships.

These strong, courageous women had to make the best of what they had. Surmounting shortages, living in dire conditions and dealing with their family problems took every ounce of their strength and dedication. Most of the household devices that we take for granted today had not even been invented and those that were being developed were only available to the wealthy.

I hope you enjoy reading my sagas as much as I enjoy writing them and agree that they pay tribute to the fighting spirit of the women of those days.

Rosie Harris