Ellen Read was born in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She has always enjoyed reading, even from a young age. Books took her into a world of wonder and enjoyment that the real world could never quite provide. She loves to read fiction, non-fiction, poetry. She particularly loves history and stories of ancient myths and legends. Authors such as Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, and Victoria Holt, the latter of whom wrote gothic mystery/romances, have influenced her own work.
In her childhood, Ellen always made up stories. At first, she wrote poetry and short stories, and then wrote her first novel at 18. After a few novels, an agent in London took her on but the agent was made redundant before she’d secured a contract with a publisher. At that time, Ellen became heavily involved in the performing arts world and found less time to write. She loved all her work and experiences there but wanted to write more and get published. When Ellen moved towns, just over three years ago, she decided that would be the start of her new writing career. She wrote a novella, Love The Gift, while moving, which she self-published. Then she started The Dragon Sleeps, the first book in The Thornton Mysteries.
Ellen’s other passion is photography. She loves to photograph flowers, landscapes and architecture. Her website features many of her photos.