Elizabeth Arnold

Elizabeth Arnold's first book was published in 1995. Before that she worked as a Science Technician in several schools and as a Quality Control Manager in the food industry, so writing children's stories came as a completely new challenge.

Her first book, THE PARSLEY PARCEL was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Award. Her second, GOLD AND SILVER WATER, was commended for the TES/NASEN Special Educational Needs Award. Her third novel was A RIOT OF RED RIBBON. These books formed the GYPSY GIRL TRILOGY that was the basis for the television series GYPSY GIRL shown on CITV in February 2001.

Elizabeth's eighth book, THE GOLD-SPECTRE, was recently published by A & C Black. It's about two boys facing up to a terrifying ghost, who feels it is his duty to protect Kildonan gold.

Elizabeth lives in The New Forest, in Hampshire. She has two children, four grandchildren and a house full of pets. These include a cat, lots of tropical and cold fish, and three dogs. One dog is blind, one senile and the third a real tear-away, so life is always busy.

City boy Joe doesn't think much will happen to him when he spends the school holidays with his grandparents in the Scottish highlands. But he's in for a surprise almost straightaway: the hills seem moody, the trees shiver as if whispering secrets, and the weather seems to change, in an instant, from clear blue skies to torrential rain. There's a lot to get used to - quite apart from the unfamiliar cows and sheep and old-fashioned ways of living. When Joe makes friends with Robbie, the only other child nearby, he thinks he'll have a friend to depend on, at least. But Robbie proves difficult to get to know, and he soon leads Joe into an even deeper mystery from one hundred and fifty years ago, involving a cache of stolen gold, a dangerous ghost seeking revenge, and a promise that's too valuable to break...