Sarah Rayner was born in London. She spent her childhood in Richmond, Surrey, then became a punk, spiked her hair and went to Leeds University to study English and get chilblains. She returned to London in the late ’80s, flattened her hair and worked in fashion PR for a bit, before her boss told her she was better at writing than schmoozing clients, and suggested she become an advertising copywriter. She took the hint, and after ten years in various London agencies she turned freelance, got some short stories published by Woman’s Own, and the rest is (small scale) history.