A voracious reader and aspiring writer since childhood, Charise Jewell was born in Germiston, South Africa and immigrated to Canada when she was seven years old. She holds an Honours B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from McGill University in Montreal, and worked as a robotics engineer for fifteen years before having children and becoming a writer. She proudly lives with bipolar disorder and educates for the fair and dignified treatment of the mentally ill.

Charise lives in Toronto with her husband and three children. Visit her at charisejewell.com