My name is Victoria, but most of my friends and family call me Tori. Feel free to do the same. Born in the shadow of the black mountains in Wales, I now live by the sea in the south-east of England with my husband, Kelly, a pair of rats named Skye and Star, a pair of gerbils named Bilbo and Baggins, and four Degus whose names are Jacob, Jasper, Jenks and Joshua. Having battled with glaucoma since birth, I now find myself completely blind. But I didn't let that stop me from chasing the dream I've had since I was a young child: the dream of being a published author. I've loved to read and write since I learned how, and always wanted to get my work published. Finally, in 2012, I made that dream come true by self-publishing. So now I'm a published author of children's fiction, as well as a couple of poetry collections. Reading and writing remain my favourite things to do, apart from spending time with my husband, and our rodent gang, of course. I also enjoy doing crafts (such as card making and knitting). Plus, I dabble in things like roleplaying games (such as Dungeons And Dragons) and figure games (such as BattleTech and Monsterpocalypse) from time to time, and enjoy watching movies and TV shows as well as listening to music. On top of that, I have an interest in history, especially stone age and Egyptian history, and in space exploration. I also love almost anything to do with animals and nature. I have to say "almost" because I'm not too keen on spiders and creepy crawly things, though can pretend they don't exist if they don't come too close to me. My favourite animals are cats, dogs, rodents and horses, though I generally get all soppy over just about any four-legged animal; especially young ones. That love of animals was a huge factor in my choice to become a vegetarian, as it's hard to enjoy a meal when you feel sorry for it. Personality wise I’d describe myself as a combination of Hermione and Luna from the Harry Potter books; Hermione’s thirst for knowledge and love of books, combined with Luna’s wandering mind and alternative way of looking at the world. A couple of people have agreed with that description of me, so I feel I'm justified in using it.
