Celia was born and went to school in Solihull. She went to University at Warwick and then taught English in secondary schools for 17 years, which is when she began to write.

Celia has written different kinds of stories but almost all of them include an element of fear. She writes for older children and teenagers because she feels that there are fewer restraints on what they can absorb. She gets her ideas and inspiration from the world around her: newspaper stories, people she meets, and places she visits.

Celia particularly likes museums and art galleries, and it was while visiting the American Museum in Bath that she first had the idea for Witch Child.

Celia now divides her time between writing, talking to readers in schools and libraries, and teaching creative writing.