About Me
I grew up in Melbourne, Bangkok and Albury.
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After training as a teacher, I worked in Perth, the hills of Nepal and downtown Tokyo.
Now I live on the south coast of WA with my daughter and an exuberant spotty dog.
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Travelling
I love travelling and we're lucky to have family living in interesting parts of the world.
In 2002, I walked the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea to research my novel-in-progress, Shadows Walking. My first picture book, Photographs in the Mud was an unexpected outcome of this trip. Since publication in 2005, Photographs in the Mud has received great feedback from readers around the world. Sydney University's, Professor Jim Martin uses the book as a resource for workshops promoting peaceful solutions to undo hatred through peaceful discourse. These workshops have occurred in diverse countries from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico to China. To find out more about the Kokoda Track or see photos of my trip, click here. Or to read one of Professor Martin's papers, click here.
At Home
I love swimming - at the beach or doing laps in a pool. And every day I walk our dog through bushland or along the beach. When I swim and walk I often get good ideas for stories. I'm also a stickybeak and love people-watching in cafe's.
The south coast is a wild, beautiful place. When I have time (and the ocean is calm), I love snorkelling and scuba diving. During late winter/early spring beach walks I often see whales and sometimes dolphins. Last spring a whale swam right below my friend and me. It was wonderful, but also a bit scary...
Reading and Writing
I have always been a bookworm and I'm sure that has helped in my writing I've kept some stories from primary school, but I didn't begin writing seriously until I left school. My first book, Dolphin Song was published in 1995. Now I have 11 books in print with more on the way. My books are about things that interest me; different cultures, the environment, friendship, being brave, turns in the road and taking chances. I like trying to explore things from different perspectives. Three of my books are written from more than one point of view: Dolphin Song, Choices and Photographs in the Mud. I read or write every day and can't imagine a world without books.