Karen Bayly is a writer, software tester, and author of five books: “Tesato’s Code”, a dystopian cyber-thriller; the alternate history novels “Fortitude” and “Courage”; the Middle-Grade fantasy “The Witch Who Wasn’t”; and the gothic horror “Blackeby House”. She began telling stories as a child when she wrote soap operas for her dolls to perform. These days it’s her zoology PhD, research background, and general dismay at the state of the world that inform her writing, an eclectic mix of speculative fiction, alternative history, noir and mystery. Her tales are often garnished with a touch of horror. She lives in the outer suburbs of Sydney, Australia, with two indoor cats, two guitars, and two ukuleles.