Hi there! It's great to meet you!
I've been a keen reader since I was small, but now Children's books are my passion! Reading them. Reviewing them. Writing them and sharing them...
But it took a little while before I figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up. . .
I was born in Napier, New Zealand and as a child was surrounded by lots of boy cousins, my brother and step brothers – so of course I wished I was a boy too.
I'd climb trees, skin my knees falling off skateboards and bikes, and make go-karts and rafts to float down the local rivers.
I've been writing stories since primary school and I wish I'd kept all of my childhood notebooks full of stories and ideas. Who knows what I could turn them into now? I didn't think seriously about writing for children until our two boys were small and asked me to make up stories. And so I began my journey and dream to become an author.
After many rejections, much frustration and lots of 'bum glue' I finally received my first acceptance from a publisher for a collection of educational titles. These were published in NZ, Australia and USA, and so I began a new dream of writing novels for tweens.
A move to a lifestyle block (small farm) with my family inspired my first published novel 'Too Many Secrets' as we all got used to no street lights or internet, giant cockroaches and the beautiful birdlife.
I had already written a novel with the help of my grandfather about a young boy whose dream is to become a jockey. (Just Jack) Unfortunately I had to finish it without my beloved Poppa after he passed away. When it was published in 2011 then became a Finalist in the 2012 NZ Post Book Awards and a Storylines Notable Book for the year, I knew I'd fulfilled my promise to him to complete it.
Since then, the sequel to 'Too Many Secrets' - 'The 'Last Herrick Secret', and 'Trouble in Time' have hit the shelves, I spent 4 years as a children's bookseller and 2 1/2 years as the weekend children's librarian at the Napier Public Library.
I'm now in my dream job at Wardini Books, visiting school libraries and reviewing books on my review site - What Book Next.com for readers, parents, teachers and librarians. I've also launched my latest novel for tweens called Between.
I'm surrounded by books all day, and then again at night - writing, reading and reviewing. Life couldn't be better! And all those skinned knees, tree climbing skills and childhood adventures have now come in handy for more stories along the way.
I've been a keen reader since I was small, but now Children's books are my passion! Reading them. Reviewing them. Writing them and sharing them...
But it took a little while before I figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up. . .
I was born in Napier, New Zealand and as a child was surrounded by lots of boy cousins, my brother and step brothers – so of course I wished I was a boy too.
I'd climb trees, skin my knees falling off skateboards and bikes, and make go-karts and rafts to float down the local rivers.
I've been writing stories since primary school and I wish I'd kept all of my childhood notebooks full of stories and ideas. Who knows what I could turn them into now? I didn't think seriously about writing for children until our two boys were small and asked me to make up stories. And so I began my journey and dream to become an author.
After many rejections, much frustration and lots of 'bum glue' I finally received my first acceptance from a publisher for a collection of educational titles. These were published in NZ, Australia and USA, and so I began a new dream of writing novels for tweens.
A move to a lifestyle block (small farm) with my family inspired my first published novel 'Too Many Secrets' as we all got used to no street lights or internet, giant cockroaches and the beautiful birdlife.
I had already written a novel with the help of my grandfather about a young boy whose dream is to become a jockey. (Just Jack) Unfortunately I had to finish it without my beloved Poppa after he passed away. When it was published in 2011 then became a Finalist in the 2012 NZ Post Book Awards and a Storylines Notable Book for the year, I knew I'd fulfilled my promise to him to complete it.
Since then, the sequel to 'Too Many Secrets' - 'The 'Last Herrick Secret', and 'Trouble in Time' have hit the shelves, I spent 4 years as a children's bookseller and 2 1/2 years as the weekend children's librarian at the Napier Public Library.
I'm now in my dream job at Wardini Books, visiting school libraries and reviewing books on my review site - What Book Next.com for readers, parents, teachers and librarians. I've also launched my latest novel for tweens called Between.
I'm surrounded by books all day, and then again at night - writing, reading and reviewing. Life couldn't be better! And all those skinned knees, tree climbing skills and childhood adventures have now come in handy for more stories along the way.