HEMINGWAY, Amanda
Amanda Hemingway started very young with a bizarre occult novella, The Alchemist (1980), published by Faber in the Introduction series for new writers. She then produced Pzyche (1983), an award-winning SF novel, before diversifying into other genres.
She wrote a couple of psychological thrillers and some neo-Gothic melodrama, all largely well-received by the critics. In the late nineties she returned to SF/fantasy – her prefered field of work – with two trilogies under assorted names. 
The comic/satirical element in her books has developed with time, perhaps because she feels the best way to survive life is not to take it too seriously. She also writes social comedy with a media background, under the name Jemma Harvey, based on the experiences of two decades at the Groucho and similar venues.
In addition, Amanda does performance poetry and loves writing verse, her main inspirations being traditional ballads and nursery rhymes – the kind of verse-forms that work well in fantasy fiction.
In the journalistic field she does whatever anyone will pay for, but with a particular focus on travel writing, a job which incorporates her taste for horse-riding and exploration. Recently, she has begun going into schools and doing talks and workshops with children, encouraging them to read more (not just her own books!) and broaden their outlook. Although writing is a solitary job, she sees it as a form of story-telling, and is keen to get closer to her audience through any media available.
For the rest, Amanda counteracts the sedentary nature of her work with physical exercise (riding, skiing, etc) and believes in a healthy diet ie. eat whatever your body craves, since if you crave it you probably need it. Nowadays, she has a gypsy lifestyle and is always on a quest for real-life adventure as well as the adventures of the imagination.