Jules Watson

Jules's parents emigrated from England to Australia, where she was born. She grew up surrounded by beaches, desert, and flies - but dreamed of misty Celtic lands, mountains, snow, and blackberries. Always writing stories, she gained college degrees in archaeology and public relations. She also worked as a cocktail waitress, personal assistant, mine worker, archaeologist, PR consultant, and business writer. Most bizarre job: driving 50-ton tip trucks through a gold mine on the edge of the desert: very hot. Best job (before author): Digging up a Roman army fort in Germany: very cold.

Jules was inspired to write novels by the "Mists of Avalon", a bestselling book steeped in ancient Celtic spirituality, sword-fighting and of course, romance. Jules waited for someone to write more books with that mix..but no one did, so she wrote her own, based on her background in archaeology. The story - historical fiction with a hint of fantasy - tells the tale of a Scottish priestess and Irish prince fighting the invading Romans. It grew into The White Mare and The Dawn Stag; and a third book The Song of the North (The Boar Stone in UK) joined it to make The Dalriada Trilogy. The trilogy has enjoyed great success all over the world, and been translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, German and Portugese.

Jules's latest books are two re-tellings of ancient Irish myths. The first, The Swan Maiden, depicts the romantic tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows. The Raven Queen, due in 2010, tells the story of the ruthless warrior Queen Maeve.

After much travelling, Jules convinced her husband that she had to move to the misty highlands of Scotland or die. She now lives surrounded by snowy hills, hairy cows, heather - and blackberries.