Ella West, the pen name of Karen Trebilcock, was born in Invercargill and writes novels for young adults. She now lives on a rural property near Mosgiel, Dunedin, with her husband and two sons. As well as writing fiction, she also works part time as a journalist.

Her novel Thieves was published in 2006 by Longacre Press and is the first book in a trilogy about Nicky, a girl who is taken by a sinister group called the Project who want to use her for her ability to teleport herself with the power of her mind. The second book in the series, Anywhere but Here, was published in 2008 and the third and final book, Real Life, hit the bookshop shelves in late 2009.