About Me

The blurb goes something like this:

Amaleen Ison is a 35 year old married mother of one. She lives with her family in Hertfordshire, England, along with her two cats (Oscar and Winston) and two guinea pigs (Thelma and LouLou). She writes Young Adult fantasy stories that meander into a variety of sub-genres.

Is that all? Of course not.

As a child, I lived most of my life in my head. I’d go about my daily routine, but imagine myself in mystical lands populated by the weird and wonderful.

At twelve years of age, I read a fantasy series called The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. The story follows Alanna of Trebond, a girl of noble birth who switches places with her twin brother to train as a knight. It was the first YA book I’d read, and I gobbled up every word. I couldn’t think of anything else but Alanna’s adventures for months after, and I harassed the school librarian to order the entire quartet. The poor woman grew to hate my daily pestering at the enquiry desk.

Even now, as an adult, I read YA books. The fantasy element is important, but more so the raw emotion of a first experience. Whether it’s first love, first ride on a broomstick, or first battle with a demon, the hodgepodge of emotions that result from each new encounter fuel my passion for reading and writing YA fiction.