Ali Carter was born in Scotland and read art history at St Andrews. She first followed an eclectic career in investment management; then in 2011 she had a catastrophic bicycling accident. After major brain surgery and a long recovery, she set herself a challenge to walk alone from Canterbury to Rome, a three-month pilgrimage she wrote about in her book, An Accidental Jubilee by Alice Warrender. From then she decided to follow her passion and become a fine artist. She specialises in oil paintings from life with an emphasis on colour. Ali also draws pet portraits to commission and works from her studio in East Sussex. A Brush with Death is her first novel.