About the Authors
Catherine Ann Wilson
“My grandmother was a wonderful story teller and I count myself fortunate to have been able to spend time with her and my great uncles and aunts, who loved nothing more than a good pot of tea with added lashings of gossip. It is their legacy that fuelled my genealogical addiction as I strove to identify fact from fiction and then record the information for posterity. From this sprouted my love of history, the urge to research and write and, eventually, to develop my own stories.
At the suggestion of Anna Jacobs, another highly successful and talented Australian novelist, I joined Romance Writers Australia. One keystroke error placed me on a chat loop where I met my namesake, Cathy T. After making a crass remark concerning my rather plain name, our friendship was born. We began to regularly email one another, offering words of encouragement (the publishing world is a tough place for the uninitiated —believe me,) when Cathy T came upon the idea to create a novel along the lines of our real-time friendship. Hence, Lions and Lilies was born.”
Catherine was born in London, England, but has lived in Australia for the last thirty five years, growing up in and around the leafy suburbs of Eastwood, Epping and Dundas. Without a particular career in mind she simply took the first job she was offered, which happened to be the position of Layout Artist for a well known map publisher, before selecting a career in nursing. She later enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, before resigning to a quiet life at home.
She lives in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, with her husband and two beautiful children, a mad Jack Russell, a large flock of flighty chickens, goldfish and several budgies… When not writing (which is not often) she likes to garden, read books, shop, read books, drink copious cups of strong coffee with friends and read plenty of books.
Catherine Ann’s photo courtesy of Heidi Wilson Photographics
Catherine T Wilson
“My first lasting love? Hmm, I was fourteen and a friend handed me a book about a heroine in France during the 14th Century, and I fell in love with everything mediæval. But maybe it didn’t start there. Come to think of it, when I was younger I devoured Alan Garner’s tales of sleeping knights, progressing to King Arthur, Ivanhoe, and Lord of the Rings, years before it became a movie, but, somehow, that French heroine always stayed with me.”
Catherine was born in Burnley, England, but moved to Australia when she was eleven months old. She grew up in Elizabeth, South Australia, relocating to Queensland when she was fourteen. She worked in communications, before finally deciding to fulfil her dream as a writer. A recipient of an Award of Arms from the Society for Creative Anachronism, she visited Europe in 2006 to witness the annual re-enactment of ‘The Battle of Agincourt’, and travelled extensively throughout Britain and France, researching material for ‘Lions and Lilies.’ The raw draft of her first novel, a Viking romance, won an encouragement award of $1,000 from six hundred entries, in a popular women’s magazine competition.
She lives on a small bushland property, west of Brisbane, and yes, you only have to walk into her house to see her first love. Pictures of maidens on horseback grace the walls, and every corner and mantel is filled with knights, battle axes and paraphernalia. Her passion for all things romantic extends to her secluded faerie garden, with myriad winged creatures, real and fantastic, greeting the unsuspecting visitor.
Catherine T’s photo courtesy of Shani White (White Light Photographics)
