Nicky Pellegrino has worked as a journalist in New Zealand and the UK and is the author of nine bestselling novels. Born in Liverpool to half-Italian ancestry, she spent the summers of her childhood with family in Southern Italy. Her writing draws on these early Italian influences, capturing the food, family ties and romance of the place. Her novels are published in New Zealand, the UK and Australia and have been translated into 12 languages including Portuguese, Bulgarian and Polish. Biography and image courtesy of Read NZ.