Sophie was born and brought up in London, where she still lives with her teenage son. She has worked as a journalist and a magazine editor, but fell in love with writing after being made redundant and enrolling in a creative writing course. She burst into the publishing world with Girl, Missing her debut novel (published 2006), which tallied up numerous award wins nationwide, including the Richard and Judy Best Kids' Books 2007 (12+ category), The Red House Book Award and The Manchester Children's Book Award. She was also longlisted for the Branford Boase award, which commends debut authors, and the coveted Carnegie Medal.