Esmahan Aykol was born in Edirne, Turkey, 1970, now living in Berlin and Istanbul. While studying towards a degree in law, she worked as a journalist for several Turkish newspapers and radio stations. Later she and a friend opened a bar, which went bust in no time. Her friend then opened a bookshop and Esmahan Aykol wrote a novel which became a bestseller not only in that bookshop, but throughout Turkey: ›Hotel Bosporus‹. Today, she concentrates solely on writing. She is the creator of the likeable Kati Hirschel novels (most recently ›Istanbul Tango‹).