About Me
A bit about me
I'm a writer and artist, living on Whadjuk Noongar land
in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia.
I am passionate about childhood creativity, self-esteem and neurodiversity; sustainability and conservation.
I grew up in a sleepy country town on the south coast,
where reading and nature where my number one escape routes.
Writing and art crossed the line in equal second place.
I'm drawn to quiet stories, adventure stories, unexpected heroes,
flawed characters and large amounts of intrigue. Who doesn't love a 'Well, I didn't see THAT coming!' plot twist?!
I absolutely love rhyming stories. There, I said it. Learning to write in rhyme is so much fun. Every sentence is a mini equation to be solved!
I am constantly reading children's fiction (picture books through to young adult) and greatly admire the work of so many contemporary authors, including Julia Donaldson, Lynley Dodd, Meg McKinlay, James Foley, Holden Sheppard and Craig Silvey, as well as all-time classics like Enid Blyton. My TBR pile is enormous!
There are too many awe-inspiring Australian and international fiction authors to list here, but special mention goes to an all-time favourite - the genius of Terry Pratchett and Discworld.
When I am not writing, I might be working on a marketing project, sketching (on paper or Procreate), pestering my husband to read my drafts, teaching myself piano, walking the dog before breakfast, jumping into the ocean, dancing around the kitchen (while making banana pancakes!), or reading many, many books to those beautiful small humans of mine.
Creative Career
I qualified as a journalist because I'd heard I could get paid to write stories. My original plan involved jetting off to become
a foreign correspondent (just like Jana Wendt, naturally!),
though I had zero understanding of what that actually meant ...
Suffice to say, I did not become a foreign correspondent.
As it turned out, my Bachelor of Arts degree led me to all sorts of jobs, including washing puppies in a pet store, managing a shoe shop, promoting a new line of lipsticks, selling evening wear in Harrods, sewing handbags, packing show bags,
working at a photocopy counter and even becoming a
very under-qualified careers advisor (?!). Eek.
I eventually found my way into roles that utilised my skills in
copy writing, marketing, photography, graphic design and event management, including a 7-year-streak as founder of my own event platform called Unwrapped: the marketplace, which helped hundreds of emerging creatives find their audience.
My dream to write books has always been in the pipeline (I even went back to uni to complete a postgrad in creative writing) but I needed more life experience before I could untangle what it was I needed
to say. Apparently I have that now ...
In 2020:
Inspired by my experience of parenting during a pandemic, I published two children’s picture books: ‘UH OH It’s a Panda-emic!’ (2020) and ‘Lockdown Land’ (2021). The latter being listed in the Top 5 picture books about the pandemic by Emily Gale for Guardian Books.
I am now a Verified Author on Medium.
In 2021, I completed the AWC's Writing Picture Books course with Zanni Louise, joined the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Australian Society of Authors.
I received an Honorable Mention in Jackie Hosking's
2022 Writing In Rhyme Competition.
My futuristic ocean adventure, ‘A Paper Legacy’, was published in the young adult anthology ‘Dust Makers’ (2022).
In the 2023 CYA Competition for picture books, I received a Highly Commended Award for my unpublished manuscript Amelia Hues (who won't smile on cue).
In 2023 my short story 'How Silence Works' was published in the Stringybark Stories Anthology 'Feral'.
In 2024, my picture book manuscript ‘Song of a Cyclone’ was accepted for publication in The School Magazine.
I have many new manuscripts currently in progress!
Photography & Illustration
Much like fishing, I have always loved
the thrill of snapping an amazing photograph.
Photography has taught me to be persistent and patient, above all else.
Born from a combined love of travel, architecture and 'people watching', I developed a keen interest in street photography and urban landscapes and went on to produce two photographic exhibitions of my work: ‘Appetite Electric’ (2012) and ‘Go where time takes you’ (2017).
(I feel a third might not be far away ...)
My love of music has enabled the incredible privilege (and possible hearing loss) of snapping musicians up close
including Kimbra, Eskimo Joe, Passenger and Macklemore.
Other highlights include:
- Making the Top 100 in the Fremantle Portrait Prize (2017);
- Top 20 spot (#13) in the Australian Photography Awards, Landscape and Environment category (2017);
- Top 10 (#5) in the GST Awards, judged by Christian Fletcher and Tony Hewitt;
- I was a featured photographer for Canon's LEAP project with my shot of a golden ferris wheel (2017)
- I have been lucky enough to take portraits of many babies, families and individuals in a professional capacity.
As an illustrator, I consider myself still very much a student, despite many decades of drawing, sketching and cartooning as a hobby.
I still have so much to learn, but I find that prospect very exciting.
While I continue to develop my style and direction, I admire many great children's book author/illustrators such as Jane Massey, Charlie Mackesy, Judy Horacek, Gabriel Evans, James Foley, Bruce Whatley, Alison Lester, Philip Bunting and Jim Field, just to name a handful.
In October 2024, my illustration 'We Are The Trees' was part of the 'Drawn By Her' exhibition (Paper Bird Bookshop & The Literature Centre).