Biography
Australia
Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia
2021 - Present
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
As a family, we recently moved to the tropics. The local humans have been extremely welcoming and the weather is fabulous.
This is proving to be the perfect place to write books to inspire young children to love and care for animals inspired by our many animal visitors. These include regular visits to our backyard from curious geckos, green tree frogs, little brown frogs and the occasional cane toad. We also have daily fly overs by fruit bats, black and white cockatoos and ibises.
Tiny swifts, sparrows and buzzy insects, including beautiful dragonflies and hornets happily divebomb us when we swim in the pool, We absolutely love it here.
2008 - 2014
2015 - 2021
The Central Coast is about 90 minutes drive north of Sydney. It is a beautiful part of the country filled with coastal lakes, long stretches of sandy beaches and roads that cut through native forests as they hug the coastline.
A wonderful place to write and meet other writers. This is where many friendships were formed, a new life was forged and where most of Stormhaven was written.
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United States
2014 - 2015
Camp Nelson, Kentucky, United States
The love story all but wrote itself. A wonderful, complex, beautiful man and I lived in the backwoods of Kentucky, south of Lexington.
We travelled the highways and byways. We walked through the mountains and the forests, hand in hand and side by side.
He showed me his part of the world and I fell in love with him and with the mountains that he loved.
The story unfortunately did not have a happy ending. William passed away from pancreatic cancer. I miss him.
Australia
Hong Kong
Austria
Travel
The French Riviera where my grandparents lived.
1969 - present
Born in Sydney, Australia this has always been home base for me. This is where I come back to to be with family and the friends I've cherished since I was in my early teens. ​
This is the place I know like the back of my hand. This is where I first fell in love. This is where I had my son. This is where I first set pen to paper and sought to have a career, a family and a life.
This may be where it all started, but it is not where it ended.
So much of who I am can be traced back to experiences and people from Sydney. To me, it is still one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
1988 - 1989
While studying at University in Australia, an opportunity to go work in Hong Kong presented itself. I thought about it for at least a few seconds before jumping at the chance.
Young, adventurous and bullet proof, I embarked on this adventure the same way I approached everything. Feet first, no holds barred.
When I arrived, I knew nothing about the handover to China. I knew nothing about the political situation in Hong Kong. I knew nothing about the life of an expat.
By the time I left, I'd walked the streets to protest and mourn the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. I'd travelled for work to both China and Taiwan. I did a lot of growing up in my time in Hong Kong.
1974 - 1983
Some kids go to camp for their summer holidays. I flew to Europe to spend winter living on a mountain in Austria​ with my grandparents.
My grandparents were extraordinary people who were happy to take in and care for their headstrong, opinionated granddaughter for 2-3 months every year.
Living in a tiny nuclear family of 3 (mum, dad and I) in Australia, I loved this chance to be part of my extended family. I got to see cousins born and grow up, skied on our own little mountain until I was good enough to go to a ski resort and experience the rush of shooting down a steep slope on two planks of carbon fibre.
I also made friends at school when I wasn't bonding with the squirrels and deer in our forest.
1971 - Present
I love to travel (if that wasn't already obvious). My family love to travel. With grandparents living in Austria (my father's country of origin) and in France (my mother's), when we weren't in Paris or travelling around Europe visiting friends and relatives, we would escape to south east Asia to visit exotic places like Bali, Thailand and the Philippines. We travelled to the east coast of the USA (from San Francisco to San Diego), visited Hawaii and the islands of the South Pacific.​
I don't remember the first time I found myself (a little chubby blonde kid) surrounded by dark skinned children, dragging me towards the beach to look for shells. I don't remember the first time I looked at snow covered mountains in awe. It feels like I've always been a free spirit, floating with the tides and the wind.