Sheelagh Kelly was born in York in 1948. She has written for pleasure since she was a child, but not until 1980 were the seeds for her first novel, A Long Way from Heaven, sown when she developed an interest in genealogy and decided to trace her ancestors' story. This was followed by nine further novels, including A Sense of Duty and Family of the Empire; the first two volumes in the bestselling Kilmaster saga.