Profile

I love the places, familiar or imagined, that writing – like reading – takes a person, and when I write I hang out with my adventurous ‘inner kid’. Who’d have thought that would lead to four novels, numerous short stories and a movie deal?

I grew up beside the Canning River in Perth, Western Australia, spending summers in bathers tagging after my brothers and sister, dodging jellyfish at Deepwater Point jetty, hacking around on bikes and topping up in the kitchen of my Nan and Pa who lived just over the hill. As a teenager, there were colourful visits to my dad and step-mum in Papua New Guinea and, throughout it all, frequent spells on – or floating just off – Rottnest Island.

I was a big fan of Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ mystery series and other adventure novels. When life proved frustratingly safe, I imagined danger in the everyday – the ‘witch’ up the street, the ‘fox’ in the bush, the ‘baddies’ to be hidden from. But it took twenty or so years of study, travel, work and being a mum to two daughters before getting down seriously to story-writing. From a career in non-fiction (journalism), it was exhilarating to write stuff in which anything was possible. After some community writing courses, I returned to the University of WA, where post-grad studies morphed into a PhD in Creative Writing, completed late in 2013 – a terrific experience.

At first, I showed my work pretty much only to family. But eventually I stopped stalling and sent a story to the long-running NSW School Magazine. Sacre blue! It was accepted! The family, the dog and I had barely stopped dancing when my novel Spider Lies was taken up by Fremantle Press (published 2009). Suddenly I had total strangers reading my work! Since, there have been other stories published, I’ve written for ACER/NAPLAN educational testing and tutored Creative Writing at university.

My second novel, Mystery at Riddle Gully, which formed part of my PhD thesis, was released in May 2012. It was to be the first of the middle readers Riddle Gully series starring gun junior journo Pollo di Nozi, Will Hopkins and the rambunctious sheep Shorn Connery, each book of which can be read independently. Riddle Gully Runaway came out in August 2014 and Riddle Gully Secrets in June 2016. The series has attracted two film rights purchase deals. The first, in 2015, lapsed but was succeeded early in 2019 by another with Kids Camera Action.

I live at the other end of the river now, near the busy port of Fremantle and the Indian Ocean. Aside from writing and getting together with family and friends, I love to kayak, swim, take photos, read good books and assault my ukulele.

School & Library Visits

Around writing, it’s inspiring to mix with young readers and writers. I draw on experience in sports coaching, tutoring, music and musical theatre to make school and library sessions interactive, educational and a tonne of fun.  For more on my author talks and workshops … please follow this link.