The Story So Far…

I have been writing stories since I was a child. The fascination with history came when my dad started teaching me about the local stories of our past. I started researching the history of my hometown – Fremantle, and the many generations in my family who shaped the port town and its incredibly rich personality. Somewhere in there, I developed a sense of ‘home’. As a result, I love to write stories that cultivate a sense of connection and community with one another. Is it so powerful to realise why you are on the writing journey! All of my writing projects on my desk are driven by this - cultivating community. Community builds resilience, tolerance and compassion.

I don’t live in Fremantle now, but when I visit, I make sure that I get a coffee at Gino’s and wait for the Fremantle Doctor to quench my soul in one big gust of salty air. I now make my home on the stunning Sapphire Coast of NSW.

I’ve lived in some interesting places in my life. I’ve lived in Paris, in a converted old convent, when I was a research fellow at the National Library of France. I got to enjoy my favourite pastimes in Paris - looking at very old maps, and practising my French, which I have passionately spoken since embracing the language in primary school. I’ve lived in Broome, which is truly a paradise of beautiful colours and people. I’ve lived in London, Dublin, Galway, Melbourne, a tiny WA wheat belt town called Wyalkatchem, and I’ve lived in a remote Aboriginal community in the Kimberley (it may have influenced my last novel a little). All of these places have helped kindle a very sound sense of what home means to me – home is wherever you are, if there’s love there too.

I’ve also done some strange jobs. I was a birthday party fairy queen, in a fairy shop which was my most favourite job ever, sprinkling glitter on anyone who asked. I was the lead singer and guitarist in an original acoustic folk band in my early 20s, which was heaps of fun, and I’ve worked in military compensation, petering out payments and decisions to an endless list of veterans with PTSD (which might have influenced my last novel, too). One job I’ve held dear all along, is that of writer. I love shining the light on the stories that make us shiver, cry, smile and connect as humans. What a joy and what a glorious honour to be that vessel.

Having started my career as a high school teacher which I again returned to more recently, I thrive on developing a strong passion for Australia’s heritage in young people. I worked for 15 years in museum and arts education as a leader of public engagement and visitor experience teams, notably at the Australian War Memorial, Bell Shakespeare, the National Archives of Australia, the Royal Australian Mint and the State Library of Victoria. I’ve held rare Books of Hours in my hands (with gloves on!), toured the countryside with cuneiform tablets, and taken the Jerilderie Letter back to Jerilderie to show the students there. I’ve also taken performances of Shakespeare to remote indigenous communities with great effect. When we know our shared history - we are connected to one another. I absolutely attest to the power of connection to bring our world together. This is why I write.

I completed my Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) in 1994, my Graduate Diploma in Education (English, French) in 1995 and my Master of Arts (Creative Writing) in 2010. I am immediate past President of the Museums Australia Education National Network, and also a former Director on the board of the ACT Writers' Centre. I am now completing another Masters degree - this time in Librarianship!

My other passion is permaculture, sustainability, and extreme gardening. It’s kind of out of control. Do you need any tomatoes? I’m an avid gardener and happiest in my garden.

Thanks for visiting – feel free to drop me a line on the contact page - I love hearing from people who have read and enjoyed my writing!

I am a bit obsessive about making
birthday cakes! Here are just a few.

Writing Career Highlights

Publications

Novels
The Happiness Jar, Storytorch Press, 2013, 2023.
Cappuccino Diva, Black Coffee Press, 2003.

Kids Books
2023
Cloudspotting (illustrated by Susannah Crispe), Windy Hollow Books
Wollemi: Saving a Dinosaur Tree (illustrated by Rachel Gyan) CSIRO Publishing
When Grandma Burnt Her Bra (illustrated by Aśka), EK BOOKS

COMING IN 2024
The Day We Built the Opera House (illustrated by Fiona Burrows), MidnightSun Publishing

Previously Published Kids Books
Our Bush Capital (illustrated by Juliette Dudley), Storytorch Press, January 2020.
The Day We Built the Bridge (illustrated by Fiona Burrows), MidnightSun Publishing, 2019.
The Flying Dream (illustrated by Connah Brecon), DoCs, NSW, 2006.
The Blue Polar Bear (illustrated by Ian Forss), DoCs, NSW, 2006.

Magazine Features
Earth Garden Magazine WINTER 2021, Quarter Acre Dream
Earth Garden Magazine SPRING 2021, Signs of Spring to Make My Heart Sing
Earth Garden Magazine SUMMER 2021, Yields of Joy

Other stuff
If I ran Australia, Editor, Black Coffee Press, 2005.
Multiple Contributor, Where to Go When, Dorling Kindersley UK, 2007.
Short. (Short Story), Black Dog Books (Walker Books), 2008.

Awards

2000: Runner Up, T.A.G. Hungerford Award for Fiction.
2006: Winner, MHS Gold Award for Promotion of Mental Health (Aus/NZ).
2006: Highly Commended, NSW Public Sector Awards.
2008: Research Fellow, Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF).
2010: Commended (3rd) FAW Jim Hamilton Award.
2011: Shortlisted, HarperCollins Varuna Award.
2011: Shortlisted, Penguin Varuna Scholarship.
2013: Runner Up (to Hannah Kent's Burial Rites), FAW Christina Stead Award.
2013: Winner, ACT Writing and Publishing Award for Fiction.
2015: Shortlisted, NLA Creative Fellowship.
2020: Finalist, Canberra Business Woman of the Year (for social impact of Our Bush Capital).
2023: Anne Edgeworth Fellow (to write a Young Adult Cli-Fi Novel)

Funding Grants

2019: artsACT funding to write a children’s book (The Friendship Flight)
2014: Department of Education WA to attend writers’ festival in Broome and deliver workshops in schools