At school Sylvia Hawk'sbee chose a mixture of Arts and Science subjects. But when told to make a choice, the author chose Science and specialized in Microbiology, but regretted the ignorance of her own language so returned to read English at Bedford College. After graduating, she taught at secondary level, had some success in writing short stories and articles, finally self-publishing a book for children. In this year she has a book for young adults, The Messengers, published by Cranthorpe Millner, now on sale.