Pauline James has drawn on personal experience and academic learning in this novel. Like Jenny, she was once a chemistry teacher who also grew up in similar circumstances. She too experienced a trauma linked to false accusations, though, for her, this occurred in adulthood. In Australia, she studied educational psychology at the University of Queensland, later becoming a teacher educator in Melbourne. Her medal-winning PhD from La Trobe University explored personal change in beginning teachers and, after joining the University of Melbourne, she undertook further research exploring people’s emotions and coping strategies during periods of challenge.
