V. M. Jones lives in Christchurch with her husband and two sons. Her previous novels are Buddy, which won the Junior Fiction and Best First Book Awards in the 2003 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, and Juggling with Manadarins (2003). The Serpents of Arakesh, the first book in the The Karazan Quartet, was shortlisted for both the 2004 New Zealand Post Junior Fiction Award and the 2004 LIANZA Esther Glen Medal.