Marina Fiorato

Fiorato was born in Manchester,[1] with a Venetian father, but was raised in Langcliffe, North Yorkshire.

[2] On completing her degrees, she studied art and worked for a period as an illustrator and film reviewer.

Fiorato co-produced and starred in the award-winning short film Devilwood (2006), and also appeared in The Wrong Blonde, An Ideal Husband (both 1999),[2] Maybe Baby (2000) and Tuesday (2008).

[3] She also designed tour visuals for bands such as U2 and The Rolling Stones and for films including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

[2] Fiorato's first novel, The Glassblower of Murano (2008), was written in bookshop coffee-shops so that she could research the Venetian setting.