CATE Haynes once asked the tooth fairy to make her magic (she was six years old and wrote a very polite note in her best handwriting). When no wand arrived, she decided to make magic with words instead. Now, when she isn’t writing, Cate is a Speech and Language Therapist for neurodiverse children and lives in Hampshire with her husband, two kids, two cats and several over-full bookshelves. Cate’s middle grade debut, The Spell Whisperer is due to be published in 2027 and she is currently working on a YA adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Cate has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, and like the lead character in her MG novel she also has a stammer, although hers rarely makes an appearance these days. Accurately and positively representing neurodiverse conditions and communication difficulties in a fresh way without them taking over the story is extremely important to Cate and she’s still hoping for that wand.