She began writing at her parents' house in Cambridgeshire (after a couple of years living a bohemian lifestyle in London).
The books concern a boy called Sebastian who enters another world through a magic mirror.
He meets a girl called Melissa who has been imprisoned by an evil Enchanter and resolves to rescue her.
After spending four years living in rural Wales and the Isle of Skye, Clayton went to the University of Cambridge to study English.
Past Mischief (1998), Dance with me (1999), Running Wild (2000), Clouds Among the Stars (2003), Moonshine (2004), A Girl's Guide to Kissing Frogs (2007) and Stormy Weather (2011), followed.