Zee was born near Ripon although she moved back to live near to her maternal grandparents on the edge of the North York Moors when she was still a little girl so all her growing up years was in this area. She was a shy and introverted child, happy to roam the countryside with at least I dog in tow, usually more. She did not enjoy the company of other children preferring the company of animals or older people in the community.
Although she was a good scholar and left school with 6 GCE 'O' levels she still married young and settled down to farm with her parents and husband expecting to begin a family quite quickly. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Eventually, she adopted a daughter and then a son but her marriage crumbled so she left the family farm to bring up the children alone and begin her gypsy lifestyle around the villages of North Yorkshire.
She had a short spell living in Halifax but quickly moved back to the York area. Another short time in Hull due to work commitments soon gave way to a return to the York area where she remained for quite a few years. Unfortunately, in 2005 she became quite ill with M.E. (since upscaled to a diagnosis of M.S.). She remains reasonably well and is determined to continue writing and to adapt however necessary, even if writing longhand one day becomes more of a challenge and began to write stories and poems for her own pleasure and on her good days was a volunteer on the North Yorks Moors Railway.
Eventually, she regained most of her health and returned to full-time work and her late mother was the only person who knew of her writing. She encouraged Zee to continue and Zee then wrote several Verses for homemade cards for family and friends but still managed to keep her stories a secret. After many years she finally allowed some of her close friends to read 'Scruffy' and they, like her mother, encouraged her to continue as they enjoyed what they were reading.
Despite that, it still took many more years before Zee felt confident enough to allow strangers to read excerpts from her stories and was very surprised to find that they enjoyed them too so she made the decision to publish Scruffy'. You can follow her writing on Facebook or email her on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information
Since publishing Scruffy, Zee has gone on to publish three more books. Scruffy and Maisie, Dizzy Izzy, and Dizzy Izzy and The Singer are all now available on Amazon. A brand new book, Scruffy and Teddy, is due to be published in October 2026 just in time for Christmas. Zee continues to write from her home in North Yorkshire drawing on her lifelong love of animals, the countryside, and stories that inspire and empower young readers.
