Fascinated by magical realms since childhood, Jen A. Egerton's passion for tales of court intrigue, epic battles, and complex characters led her to study Modern History at the University of Oxford. Now a mother to two young children, Jen works as a secondary school teacher, using her fleeting spare moments to conjure up fantasy worlds on paper. Bonds of Blood and Duty draws on her own experiences of having a child who has been born different and what it is like to search for answers in a world that judges difference far too harshly. When she first found out about her son's condition, everything she pictured for her family's lives changed in an instant. Since then, she had done copious amounts of research into the history of Williams Syndrome, and found that some scholars believe that people with WS might have been the inspiration for some of the first legends of elves and fairies. Those with WS often have distinct facial features called 'elfin facies', and this is what started her thinking about what it might be like if the person born 'different' was human instead.