Y. K. Willemse was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Having always had an interest in writing stories, Yvette was first published in an anthology at age sixteen. She signed a contract with Pontas Literary and Film Agency at eighteen, becoming their youngest ever client. Just before she turned twenty-one, she signed a multi-book international publishing contract with Permuted Press, an offshoot of Simon and Schuster.
Yvette had four books published by age twenty-two, and she became a Sir Julius Vogel Award finalist. Her first fantasy fiction series was called The Fledgling Account and comprises eight books and four short stories. Besides writing, her other interests include music. Yvette is a singing and piano teacher with over ten years’ experience and has put numerous students through music exams with a one hundred percent success rate. Her students have starred in musicals such as Evita, Les Miserables, Annie, Half a Sixpence, Fame, and more. She has vocal coached the leads and main choruses for several musicals at the school she now works at, Chinchilla Christian College.
Yvette lives in a small regional town in Australia with her husband Michael and her daughters Holly and Beatrix. They have had numerous adventures together, including a roadside birth. Yvette spends her spare time making music, drinking coffee, and kayaking away to secluded spots.