Gillian Philip

Gillian Philip (born 1964) was raised in Glasgow and Aberdeen. When not swimming in a chilly sea, she liked nothing better than shutting herself in her room to write adventure stories. Philip studied politics and international relations in university and worked as a music shop assistant, a wine sales rep, a theatre usherette, barmaid, typesetter, and political assistant to an MP. She married in 1989 and lived in Barbados for twelve years and took up writing seriously. In the evenings she worked as a singer in a band in an Irish bar, playing a combination of Celtic folk rock, reggae and calypso. She still thinks this is the best fun she’s ever had that didn’t involve writing. In 2001, following the birth of her twins, Gillian came home to Scotland permanently. When writing and family permit, her hobbies are horse riding and fencing (epeé).

Gillian Philip also writes under the pseudonym of Gabriella Poole.