Vena studied at Homerton College, Cambridge, and was one of the first female members of the Cambridge Footlights. She was an actress, playwright and teacher before becoming a full-time writer and producing the Thorn trilogy.
Thorn, the first in the trilogy, was hailed by the Guardian as ‘a compelling, dark-hued psychological thriller’, by Time Out as ‘an outstanding debut’, and by The Times as ‘one of those rare and energetic books you can’t put down and don’t want to end.’ It was followed by The Art of Dying and Green Eye, both also highly praised. The trilogy is now available from Endeavour Press.
Her new standalone novel, The Lost Ones was published in May 2016 and her fifth novel, Toxic will be published later in 2016, also by Endeavour Press.
Vena lives in London with her husband, the art critic Richard Cork. She has two sons and two daughters.