Gilda O’Neill was born and brought up in the East End, where her grandmother ran a pie and mash shop, her grandfather was a tug skipper and her great-uncle worked as a minder for a Chinese gambling den owner. She left school at fifteen but returned to education as a mature student, studying with the Open University and the Polytechnic of East London, and taking an M.A. at the University of Kent while lecturing part time. She is now a full-time writer, and has had seven novels and three non-fiction books published. She lives in Essex with her husband and family.