Hartley was born and raised in South London and discovered a love of books at an early age starting with A.A. Milne and Roald Dahl. The very end of 2020 marked the release of Hartley's debut novel, "The Place I Call Home". At the end of 2022, Hartley's second novel, Surviving Christmas With the Family, was released. Hartley is on Twitter @Hartley_Blaze and on bsky @hartleyblaze if you want to say hello.