Cristina Fernández Valls was born in Soria in 1983. When she was seven, her parents took her to live in Santander, where she became obsessed with the sea. She has three academic qualifications under her belt. She got the one in architecture is because she loves Gaudi. After that she studied primary education so she could get a hands-on job and be able to tell jokes at work. And then she carried on reading until she got a degree in literature. Some of her poems and short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies.