Clare Francis

Clare Francis is a bestselling British crime fiction and thrillers writer and a former yachtswoman. She published eight best-selling novels, translated into 20 languages and available in over 30 countries, alongside a highly acclaimed Homeland (2003) and crime novel Unforgotten (2008).

Francis's love for the sea and sailing started during her childhood summers on the Isle of Wight, where she learned to sail at nine. During the Christmas holidays spent with her grandparents in the Yorkshire Dales, she developed an appreciation for the landscape, which recurs in her writing.

After attending the Royal Ballet School, Francis pursued a degree in Economics at University College London. After three years, she left her job in marketing to pursue her dream of adventure. This decision led her to a "personal odyssey" across the Atlantic solo, laying the foundation for her "unplanned" five-year career in sailing. Her achievements on the sea include being the first woman to captain a boat in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

After writing three non-fiction books about her sailing adventures, Francis debuted with Night Sky in 1983. It achieved immediate success. As well as making the Sunday Times bestseller list, the book also made the New York Times top 10 for six weeks.

Clare Francis wrote three more thrillers — Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987), and Requiem (1991), which was published as The Killing Winds in the United States — before embarking on a crime novel career with Deceit in 1993, later adapted for television.

Her novels often interweave her love for the sea and her experiences as a sailor.

Married in 1977 to Jacques Redon, with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978, Francis has faced personal challenges, including suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as ME) for many years. Despite this, she has remained actively involved in charitable work, particularly with Action for ME, of which she is President.

Francis has been appointed MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has also served as Chairman of the Society of Authors and the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Rights.

Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight.

Photo credit: www.clarefrancis.com