Sam Hayward grew up in Hampshire and after an administrative career, returned to full-time education to study Journalism. She graduated in 1997 with a BA (Hons) from Southampton Solent University and subsequently worked as a publications officer for a regional cancer charity. In 2000, she moved to Somerset with her husband, a retired Naval Commander, and worked as a part-time sub-editor for a county newspaper. In September 2013, she completed a postgraduate course in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. Her debut novel Black to White was inspired by the loss of her husband to cancer in 2008.
