Angela Ranson is a Canadian expat who used to spend her days teaching teenagers English and History. She now enjoys living in the wild beauty of North Yorkshire and working as a university administrator. In 2014, she earned a doctorate in the history of sixteenth-century England from the University of York, and spent several years publishing non-fiction articles about the early years of Queen Elizabeth I. Most recently, she acted as editor and contributing author for the book Defending the Faith: John Jewel and the Elizabethan Church (Penn State Press, 2018).

C.S. Lewis once said: ‘Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else.’ In Angela’s case, real and imaginary things often blend into one story. Her novels attempt to recreate the atmosphere of Tudor England, exploring fresh themes and ideas by finding fictional solutions to real-life crimes and mysteries. She tries to create puzzles that the reader can solve by tracing the clues, and loves including ciphers, cryptic messages, secret treasures and hidden meanings. As in life, things are not always what they seem.

That’s what makes it interesting.