I was born in Manchester, England and immigrated to South Africa when I was 12.  I lived there for 20 years where I married and had two children.  We immigrated to New Zealand in 1996 with my husband dying the following year in a drowning accident.  However, my daughters and I remained in New Zealand, having adopted the country as our home.

I started writing when I was 16, inspired by S E Hinton and, because of my age then, I wrote about what I knew, which was teenagers.  Even though I am older, I still choose to write for this age group. 

I write what I consider ‘serious’ fiction for senior primary/intermediate and young adults, choosing mature themes.   My first published novel was a story for teens called “In Too Deep” and dealt with such subjects as bankruptcy, betrayal, death, and suicide.  It was a finalist for the Tom Fitzgibbon Award in 2006 and was published this year by Scholastic NZ Ltd.  A lesson plan for this novel is available by contacting me through the Kiwi Write for Kids website.

I have also had a short story on an incident during the Waikato Wars in the children’s anthology “Hideous and Hilarious” published by Random House last year.  That is story no.10 “The Matau”.

Scholastic NZ Ltd are currently considering another novel with a contemporary theme which features a boy detective. This novel is intended to be the first in a series aimed specifically at reluctant boy readers in the 10-13 age group.

I also have an historical fiction novel based on the events of the sinking of the HMS Orpheus in 1863 placed with Harper Collins.

I have also just finished a work of fiction on the Anglo Zulu War which is intended for an international market.  For this I have made use of my English and South African background.

In the future I intend to write a further two books for my intended series and write another historical fiction on the Waikato Wars.