Fiona Ballard grew up in Hampshire, Dorset and Malaya. Family travels exposed Fiona to a plethora of cultural experiences giving her life-changing skills and independence. Fiona has had first-hand experience of living within a multi-cultural family and this has only served to enhance her writing. Her creative writing experience began with a gift to enter a competition after her retirement from the NHS, resulting in some positive feedback from the judges: "the story had a voice and used vivid descriptions to bring it to life". Fiona is an active member of the Portsmouth Authors Collective with five published books to date. A memoir, a short story collection, and two adult Mystery dramas. Lastly a children's book due for publication in January 2025.