Elizabeth Haynes grew up in Seaford, Sussex and studied English, German and Art History at Leicester University. She previously worked as a police intelligence analyst and lives in Norfolk with her husband and son.

Haynes has been writing stories for as long as she has been able to write. She bought a second-hand electric typewriter when she was about thirteen and spent many rainy weekends crafting her masterpieces, driven by a compelling need to write. In October 2005, she discovered National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), an annual challenge to write 50,000 words in November. Her participation in NaNoWriMo led her to write her first draft of Into the Darkest Corner, which, after a period of editing and with the help of Greg Mosse, was picked up by Myriad Editions.