Julia grew up in England and was an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher and publisher in various countries for more than 30 years. Now she writes fiction and scripts for EFL learners and general readers. As a student, she drove from London to Athens, Greece, in a very small car. When she saw the dazzling blues of the Mediterranean for the first time and ate her first cheese pie, she knew she had to live there. This led eventually to her having two bicultural children there (now adults), and two homes, one in Cumbria and one near Corinth. Her other loves include exploring and researching country-sides and coasts, and spending time with cats. But her normally nomadic lifestyle means she can't look after a real cat (or two or three). So she has a stuffed toy leopard who reclines near her desk, and HE looks after HER, in his own unblinking, undemonstrative way.