Poppy Alexander is the author of The Battle of the Bookshops, The Littlest Library, Storybook Ending, 25 Days 'Til Christmas and The 12 Days of Christmas She wrote her first book when she was five. There was a long gap in her writing career while she was at school, and after studying classical music at university, she decided the world of music was better off without her and took up journalism instead. She takes an anthropological interest in family, friends, and life in her West Sussex village (think The Archers crossed with Twin Peaks), where she lives with her husband, children, and various other pets.