Downes, Nicky: - Nicky Downes lives in Coventry, where she works as an education trade union officer.When she isn't working, or writing, you can often find her cruising the canals in the Midlands on her narrowboat, Chanelle. Nicky says, "I find it so relaxing at the tiller. It's where I get the best ideas for my novels."From an early age, Nicky spent hours in her local library devouring all the Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, being a huge fan of crime novels. Her favourite authors are Val McDermid, Mark Billingham and Fiona Cummins.Nicky has self-published four novels: a psychological thriller, Bat Girl, and a series, Traffic, Consent and Chained, featuring DI Amelia Barton of the National Crime Agency. Readers have described these books as "fast-paced, unputdownable thrillers." She is currently writing a police procedural series of books featuring mountaineer DI Jacqueline Kent, set in Birmingham.