Cole, Carol: - Carol was raised in a small village in the New Forest National Park in southern England. Following formal education and with an interest in forensics and police work, she applied to join Hampshire Constabulary. She was unsuccessful as she did not meet the minimum height requirement. Carol wrote short pieces for the farming press, and a series of articles for the RSPCA. Fiction followed, with the publication of short stories in magazines, both in the UK and Germany. The broadcast of a play by BBC Wiltshire Sounds and performances of other plays at literary festivals was followed by success in writing competitions. Carol has always liked puzzles and logic, and this is probably the reason she turned to the genre of crime when she began writing novels. Her first novel was long listed in the Plaza Prizes crime category. She is a member of the Crime Writers' Association. She lives in a rural community near the cathedral city of Salisbury with her husband and two rescued feral cats.