Barbara Hopkins was born in Herefordshire, during the Second World War. After the war, her family moved to Middlesex. Her childhood was short. By the age of ten she was the eldest of six children and much of her time was spent doing housework and taking care of her younger siblings. In her limited spare time she loved drawing and writing, and inventing stories of enchanted worlds, and the characters who inhabited them.
She left Longford Girl's School at fourteen and worked on a farm until she was fifteen and old enough to legally work. She was a frequent visitor to her local library and her fascination with fairies and mysterious, magical places continued. Her dream is that all children will get great pleasure from her tales of magic and parallel worlds, and enjoy the illustrations of the characters she has created.