Sarah Alderson spent most of her life in London before making a significant life change in 2009. She left her job in the non-profit sector and embarked on a round-the-world trip with her husband and daughter, who is obsessed with princesses. Their journey was a mission to find a new place to call home.

After traveling through India, Singapore, Australia, and the US, they eventually settled in Bali, where they lived for five years. During this time, Sarah completed her first novel, Hunting Lila, which won the Kingston Book Award. She wrote the sequel on a beach in India and had secured a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they arrived in Bali.

Her third book, Fated, about a teenage demon slayer, was published in January 2012. Following this, The Sound, a thriller romance set in Nantucket, was published in August 2013.