Helen FitzGerald (born September 21, 1966 in Shepparton, Australia) is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. Her debut novel, Dead Lovely, was originally published by Allen & Unwin in September 2007 and her latest novel, The Exit, was published in February 2015 by Faber & Faber. Viral, her next novel, is due to be released in February 2016.She was raised in the country town of Kilmore, Victoria, being the twelfth in a large family of thirteen children. She studied English and History at the University of Melbourne, before later attending Glasgow University where she completed a Diploma and Masters in Social Work. She began writing while working as a criminal justice social worker, where for a period she worked with serious sex offenders in Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison. She quit this job for a time to focus solely on her writing career, before returning to the field part-time. She cites her experience as a social worker an inspiration in the subject matter of her writing. Wikipedia