Pamela Gordon Hoad read history at Oxford University, and the subject has remained of abiding interest to her. She has also always loved the drama and romance of characters and plot in historical fiction. She tried her hand at such creative writing over the years but, due to the exigencies of her career, she mainly wrote committee reports, policy papers and occasional articles for publication. After working for the Greater London Council, rising to be an Assistant Director General and the Deputy Director of Industry and Employment, she held the positions of Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hackney and then Chief Executive of the City of Sheffield. Later she held public appointments, including that of Electoral Commissioner when the Electoral Commission was established and she chaired the Commission's Boundary Committee for England.. Since 'retiring', Pamela has been active in the voluntary sector and for three years chaired the national board of Relationships Scotland; she continues her involvement with several voluntary sector organisations. Importantly, during the last few years, she has also been able to pursue her aim of writing historical fiction and she published her first three novels in a series about the young physician, Harry Somers: 'The Devil's Stain', 'The Angel's Wing' and 'The Cherub's Smile'. Harry's story is continued in 'The Martyr's Scorn' and a fifth book in the series is planned for publication in 2019. Pamela has also published short stories with historical backgrounds in anthologies published by the Borders Writers Forum (which she chaired for three years). She continues to chair or be a committee member of various organisations concerned with the creative arts and history.