Wot was born in Ulster and has lived or worked in every country in the United Kingdom. She spent many years in Northumberland and later in Cumbria, both of which have had a strong influence on her writing. She now lives in Shetland and has no TV, preferring to watch the sky and sea instead. She has travelled widely in the British Isles, Europe and the USA. Her other interests include geology, classical music, gardening and cooking. She likes beer and Beethoven, loathes bureaucracy and the surveillance society and prefers to brave the weather rather than the noise and traffic of urban living.