Linda McNabb was born in England, but has lived in New Zealand since she was four years old. A natural storyteller who loves inventing characters and worlds for them to live in, Linda lives in Auckland with her husband and two daughters, and the rest of the time in the rich, fertile land of her imagination. Her first novel The Dragon's Apprentice, was a finalist in the Junior Ficion Category for the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards in 2003. Circle of Dreams Timeweaver is Linda's third title with Scholastic. The idea for Circle of Dreams came to her one day when she was looking at an old leather-bound book in a second-hand shop and it seemed to have a character all of its own. She began to wonder 'what if' and 'maybe' as all writers do. The rest followed from there. Linda writes mostly children's fantasy but has, in the past, dabbled in adult book. None have been published yet. Her major influence in writing for children came when she was reading 'The Wednesday Wizard' by Sheryl Jordan. It was written in a style that she admired and has since aimed to achieve. Linda's books do not deal with the 'serious' issue of life as so many books today do. Fantasy is all about visiting a different place for a while and she doesn not include any war, politics or religion in any of her children's stories. Her books do not aim to teach, preach or advise - they are the books you read for the pure pleasure of reading. Although her books are aimed at the 8-12 year old reading group, they can be enjoyed by older readers who enjoy an uncomplicated fantasy that will export them to somewhere new for a while.