Maggie Ballinger

Maggie Ballinger was born in Crewe, Cheshire, in 1951 and grew up in Morden, Surrey. Her playmates included a younger brother, and four other girls who lived on the same road. The five "Glenthorpe Girls" are still in almost daily contact with each other, after almost 70 years.

Maggie now lives in Sheffield, as do her two daughters and four grandchildren, who are aged between six and fourteen.

After studying history at the Universities of East Anglia and London, Maggie pursued a career in NHS management. Once retired, her lifelong interest in writing turned from being a hobby into an almost full-time occupation. Stacks of early manuscripts were at one stage stored in a garden shed and, when retrieved, were discovered to have been partially devoured by mice.

The idea for "Baa Baa Pink Sheep" came from her eldest granddaughter Ella who, as a two year old, was bored with the traditional rhyme, and demanded further colours and different questions. The resultant book was self-published, principally to protect the concept.

In 2012, after winning the inaugural limerick competition run by the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society, she had the idea of writing a maritime history of Great Britain in verse. This was originally intended to be a short resume, with relatively limited scope. However, the compelling and diverse subject matter quickly exerted its grip, and Britain's history began to look more and more fascinating "when viewed from the sea", the original working title of "Britannia's Glory - A Maritime Story". Her husband, Stephen, provided all the original drawings, maps and graphs for this project and has been a true mainstay throughout.

Maggie's most recent book is a novel entitled "JAMES THE THIRD" which was published on 6th February 2022 - the date that marked Her Majesty's 70 years on the throne. But what if Queen Elizabeth, wife of George VI, had given birth to a baby boy shortly before the King's death...?