About Jenna Burtenshaw

I was born on the 4th of July 1980 and given my first taste of stardom that very same day. I was presented with the dubious honour of being the biggest baby in the hospital and carried around on a tour of the building as apparently befits a child of overly-large stature. Five years later, my brother Adam would be given the same tour. His title? The most beautiful baby in the hospital. Typical.

At primary school I was often found lurking in the library reading books that were far too old for me. I loved reading and couldn't get enough of it. In my teens I played the flute in my school orchestra. I enjoyed studying Shakespeare - Hamlet in particular - and completely memorised Ophelia's role just in case I ever had the chance to audition for the part.

After school, I had different part-time jobs while studying for my A levels and also ran a rescue for ill and unwanted guinea pigs which had more than fifty residents at one time. I am a vegetarian and animal welfare is very important to me.

I planned to eventually become an English teacher, but fate had other ideas. While I was at college my mum became seriously ill and I was unable to take my place at university. I had always had an interest in writing so whilst caring for my mum I began to work on short stories and poems and a new path was placed before me. I loved the challenge of writing and creating new worlds so I made the decision to write full time and began working on full length novels, leaving my old plans behind.

Now, I divide my time between writing, my three dogs and two rescue rabbits. I collect musical instruments and try to learn them whenever I have time. I spend far too much time online, I am notoriously disorganised and I am definitely not a morning person. My writing space is a cluttered desk with barely enough space for a coffee cup and I always write with music in the background. There's nothing like a bit of chaos to get the creative wheels turning! My family are the most precious thing in the world to me. Without my mum, dad and brother, none of this would have been possible.

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My Top Five Websites

1. http://twitter.com - Interesting people and lots of book talk
2. www.empireonline.com - Movie news & interviews
3. http://ihasahotdog.com - My screensaver is filled with pictures from this site
4. www.bbc.co.uk - A great site for everyday news and videos
5. www.absolutewrite.com/forums - Writing talk, queries & questions

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My Dogs

Belle is a German Short-Haired Pointer. The postman is her natural enemy, she is more scared of the local cats than they are of her & she is a big floppy-eared softy who loves her comfort.

Maisie is a very curly and stout Scottish Terrier. She spends most of her time on her bed or in the garden, devising devious schemes, dodging her walks & sleeping... a lot!

Nella is a Yorkshire Terrier. A yappy, brown-eyed bundle of trouble. She will climb anything, often uses cuteness to get her own way & loves showing the other dogs who is boss.