Elizabeth Woodcraft was born and grew up in Chelmsford. She became a mod at 13, worked in the Milk Bar at 15, and danced to the music of Zoot Money, Georgie Fame and Wilson Pickett on Saturdays. This is the world reflected in the stories in A Sense of Occasion. She took her suede coat and small collection of Tamla Motown records to Birmingham University where she studied philosophy. She then taught English in Leicester and Tours in France. After that, she moved to London where she worked for Women's Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Women's Aid helped to bring about a change in the law - the Domestic Violence Act of 1976 - and Elizabeth's experiences during that time led her to retrain as a barrister. During her time at the Bar she represented Greenham Common Peace Protesters, Anti-Apartheid demonstrators, striking miners and Clause 28 activists, as well as battered women, children who have suffered sex abuse in and out of their homes and gay parents seeking parental rights. She has published two crime novels, featuring barrister Frankie Richmond - Good Bad Woman and Babyface (Harper Collins). Frankie Richmond's collection of Stax and Motown records is to die for. Good Bad Woman was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award. The reviewer in the London Times said about Babyface, 'Move over Rumpole.' A third Frankie Richmond novel - Crazy Arms - is on the way. Throughout her life, Liz has been writing, plays and stories, and she has always kept a diary. Her book A Sense of Occasion, published in 2014 is a collection of short stories about 4 working class girls living in the 60s. Her latest novel, Beyond the Beehive, continues the story of best friends Sandra and Linda, in the year 1965. She is an occasional newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio Essex and recently appeared in the BBC East show ‘Living in ’66 – Pop, Pirates and Postmen,' talking about life as a mod girl in Chelmsford. She taught BBC Radio 6 DJ Steve Lamacq how to do the mod jive. With her partner, she divides her time between Paris and London.