Alex Gutteridge is the author of 9 children's books. Her work includes humorous young fiction, stories for reluctant readers and YA novels. Her book Oven Chips for Tea was broadcast on the radio and her latest novel, Last Chance Angel, has been short-listed for five awards; the Essex Book Awards, the Hull Book Awards, the Lincolnshire Book Awards, the Lancashire Book Awards and the Romantic Novelists' Book Awards in the young adult category.Alex was born and brought up in Leicestershire, England. An only child she spent a lot of time making up stories inside her head and sometimes getting into trouble for that! She dreamed of doing all sorts of things when she grew up, a teacher, an artist, a journalist, but she never thought it would be possible to be a children's writer. It was only when her daughter was small that she thought to herself 'if I'm going to have a go at writing that book which has been lurking at the back of my mind for years, then I should start now'. So she did. Her first book was based on an old Leicestershire legend about a highwayman and his wife and, to her amazement, was accepted by A&C Black, the first publishers she sent it to.A couple of years ago she had an irresistible urge to write a romantic novel for adults, set on a farm in Yorkshire. Every Cloud... is published under the name Lucy Cooper and is available on kindle.Alex has three children, a highly strung tortoiseshell cat and a very greedy guinea pig. She also has an extremely patient husband and they still live in Leicestershire. One day Alex would like to get a dog and to keep chickens. She would also like to have more space so she can plant an orchard. At the moment she likes baking and eating cake (especially lemon drizzle), walks in the countryside, exploring new places and or course reading.Alex blogs every week about all sorts of random things at alexgutteridge.blogspot.co.ukYou can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.Her next YA Book No Going Back is due to be published this summer by Templar.