Joanne Shemmans was born in Birmingham, England in 1972, the child of a single mother, too late for the permissive sixties. She began to escape into her own fantasy worlds at a very early age (and for a lot of the time she still does...) and began writing poetry and short stories at the tender age of six. Her interest in horror began at around nine, when she first saw late night Hammer movies with her grandmother.

From the age of eleven onwards, she produced both fiction and artwork, but had decided on a career in the latter by the time she was fourteen, inspired by David Bowie's early ambitions in graphic art.

Her career as an artist was shortlived; she gained a place at Bournville School of Art on leaving school in 1988, but discovered on her degree course in 1990 that this was the wrong choice, and dropped out in her first year.

At this time she also met her future husband Marc Antony Shemmans, who was to prove a major source of inspiration and support for her work. A fellow horror enthusiast, he was also a writer. They married in 1993 at just 21 years old.

For a few years took a back seat as Joanne's personal life took precedence. In 1996, she happily became pregnant with her son Marc Peter. During the pregnancy, she found time on her hands and began to write her first novel "Angels".

In 2002, after being constantly encouraged (some would say pestered) by her other half, she finally began submitting short stories to small press magazines and anthologies. Her first published story "Cold" appeared in "Peep Show" magazine in June. Since then, more of her work has appeared in "Peep Show", "The Horror Express" and “Waxing and Waning”.

She was recently described as "the best horror writer in the Midlands" by Peepshow editor Paul Fry, and has received praise from horror writer Graham Masterton.

The inspiration for her fiction comes from music and life experience. She tends to read little by other authors, preferring to develop her own unique style, but does name the likes of Dean Koontz and Charles Dickens as having influenced her work. Her latest completed novel "Oceans" is awaiting publication.