Gaye Hicyilmaz lived in Turkey for many years, much of that time in the city of Ankara, which provided the setting for her first children’s book, Against the Storm. Inspired by a true story in the Turkish press, it was first published in England, where it was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award in the children’s fiction category and was runner-up for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award the same year. After leaving Turkey the author moved to Switzerland with her four children and for seven years lived in the small town of Horgen, which gave her the background for The Frozen Waterfall. She now lives in Kent in England.