Shalbey Bellaman grew up in Africa, spending most of her time outdoors with her brothers and sister whilst watching out for snakes or monkeys. She had a pet chameleon, white mice, and there were always cats and dogs to play with. She read everything she could get her hands on and entertained her siblings with ghost stories. She still feels like the girl who ran barefoot and climbed trees in the African sun or escaped to far-away places through the stories she read, and this led her to write for children. Her favourite books are about family, animals, dragons, magic and the supernatural, and her writing reflects this. If she could choose an animal to be, it would be a cat, curled up beside the fire, or a leopard relaxing in a tree. She now lives near London with her husband, and their three sons live nearby with their families.