This is me: a TV reporter who became a writer, then a charity founder, then an author. 

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I was in broadcast journalism for more than 20 years - a television news and current affairs reporter and presenter for programmes like One News, Breakfast, 20/20 and Sunday - before I went back to university to learn how to write for the page.

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I did a Masters in Creative Writing at Auckland University, where I wrote the first draft of what would become my first book: Spark Hunter, an adventure-fantasy novel set down in the great wonderland of Fiordland National Park, for readers aged 10 years and up. I'm pretty chuffed with how it's been received: it made the bestsellers lists and won the NZSA Best First Book Award at the 2022 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults; it also won a Storylines Notable Book Award and was shortlisted for the Esther Glen Junior Fiction Prize.

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My second book is called The Secret Green; it's a sequel to Spark Hunter and it's coming out in July, 2025, with publisher Allen & Unwin.

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I write things aimed at adults, too. Creative non-fiction, essays, articles, book reviews and things like that. I also do talks and speeches and chair sessions at writers festivals and arts events which I really enjoy doing because it brings together my love for journalism and my love for literature.

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I really love books. I think they are hugely important tools for both children and adults; they help build intelligence and empathy and foster a necessary sense of wonder. I founded and run a charity called Kiwi Christmas Books. We gift brand new books to kids whose parents can't afford to buy Christmas presents, or who struggle to access good books throughout the year. You can read more about it here: www.kiwichristmasbooks.org.nz.

 

I grew up in the Deep South but live in Auckland now which is much warmer, though somewhat lacking in blue cod. I have two sons, a husband called Pete, a cat called Graham, and a dog called Dusky and we have a great tōtara tree in our front yard that houses tūī and pīwakawaka and tauhou and blackbirds and thrushes and sometimes a trio of pesky eastern rosellas. I wish I knew how old it is because it is huge; its roots run all the way to the letterbox.

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My favourite colour is green.  

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Want to get in touch? You can do so right here.