Shayla can't explain how she finds time to get anything done, though people often ask. Formerly a classroom teacher, she has a Masters in Editing & Publishing, and works as an academic and as an occasional editor while she completes her PhD. She also writes urban fantasy series The Elm Stone Saga. 'Chosen', 'Scarred' and 'Unbidden' are the first three in a series of six young adult titles centring on modern Irish sorceress Aristea's apprenticeship to a traditional governing magical council. The titles have sold internationally, reaping excellent reviews from readers of 'older' YA/New Adult and more contemporary fantasy. Shayla loves travel, and tries to incorporate multilingual characters into her expansive magical world and to give them a voice in their own language. She worked in a New Age store while she completed her Undergraduate and these experiences have shaped the lore of The Elm Stone Saga, but she is also a purist sci-fi nut, and this has bled into the series in the way she has developed a realistic, almost scientific style of magic for her characters to wield and explore. In her slivers of spare time, Shayla watches classic science fiction, tries to learn foreign languages, reads fanfiction and plays the Sims. And writes.

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