Victoria Stevens grew up in Ilkley near the wild moors of Yorkshire in northern England. After studying Natural Sciences at Jesus College Cambridge and obtaining a PhD in geology at Caltech in Los Angeles, she caught the travel bug and spent the following year in Nepal working with a local NGO on earthquake hazard. After a short stint in London she headed for South Africa to research earthquakes at the University of Cape Town and she's lived there ever since. She spends her free time hiking, running, reading and exploring the world.