Paula Smedley is the debut author of "The Inconvenient Need to Belong", an emotional novel about love, loss and how the choices we make can shape our lives and the lives of others. She began writing at a very young age, winning acclaim and awards for her poetry and short stories. An extensive traveller, Paula has encountered vigilantes in Nigeria, escaped post-tsunami radiation in Japan, partied in a favela in Rio de Janeiro and left her debit card in a cashpoint in Sri Lanka. She lives in London with her husband.