Like Maggie, the protagonist of Bloomer, Anne Schlebusch, is 70 years old. This deft author is no stranger to writing though, having been a co-author of language textbooks and a curriculum guide. She has written three Young Adult novels, becoming a 1995 Joint Winner of the “Young Africa Award” with one of them. In 2020 her short story was longlisted in the Kwela Corona Competition. After completing her MPhil in Applied Language Studies (cum laude) at UCT in 1995, Anne left teaching to join the Western Cape Education Department and concluded her long and illustrious career with a decade as Director of Business Strategy for the WCED. She lives in Cape Town with her family, which includes children, grandchildren, cats, and dogs.