Katharine R. Pepper (AKA Kate Russell) loves reading books and stories so much that she decided to write some herself. Katharine has written stories for two previous anthologies with The Ten Penners – Fan-Tas-Tic-Al Tales and Mystery, Mayhem & Magic, and hopes that readers will enjoy her four stories for Backyard Beasts & Curious Capers as much as she enjoyed writing them.

Katharine has also published two novels for adults (Shadow of a Soldier and The Players) and is currently in the final editing stages of a YA novel, Kylie Cooper and the Misplaced Bushranger, featuring a teenage witch and the handsome, young bushranger she magically transports from 1867! She has also written two more Kylie Cooper novels, another standalone YA fantasy novel, and two humorous crime novels with a crime scene cleaner as the protagonist, which are all in various stages of editing.

Katharine loves reading and has a vast book collection. Her favourite books include many she’s owned since she was a child (a long time ago now!) like The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton, The Borrowers series by Mary Norton, the Flambards series by KM Peyton, The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Some more modern favourites include the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, the Mortal Engines quartet by Philip Reeve, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, and the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.  She also loves the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend and is waiting anxiously for Book 4!

As well as being a proud Ten Penner, Katharine is also a member of the Gold Coast Writers’ Association, Queensland Writers Centre, and Sisters in Crime. And she’s absolutely addicted to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which takes place every November. It's the only way she ever gets any of her novels finished!

For more about Katharine, please check out her website: https://katharinerpepper-author.weebly.com and her blog: https://katharinerpepperauthor.wordpress.com.