I was born on the 20th of May, 1959 in Windsor, New South Wales, Australia. The youngest of four children, I lived with my family in a small timber house on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. I started my school life at St Monica’s Primary School in Richmond, catching the bus with my brothers and sister every day until a major flood caused the Hawkesbury River to break its banks and sweep the family home away.

Along with the destruction of our house, the fierce-flowing river took all our belongings. My parents managed to save only a few precious photos. The year was 1964 and I was five years old.

After the flood my parents purchased a small property at Plumpton where they had a red-brick house built, that I lived in for twenty years. During this time I attended Marayong Primary School, where I discovered books at about eight years of age.

The first novel I recall reading was the Charles Dicken’s classic, Oliver Twist. I loved the effect this book had on me, sweeping me up in the excitement of another world. I soon became a voracious reader and a school librarian at a young age.

I then attended Rooty Hill High School. I remember it had a great library that quickly became one of my favourite places with many lunch sessions roaming the aisles and scanning the shelves as I hunted for my next adventure.

Growing up I loved to read long dramas and devoured the books by James A Michener and Leon Uris. It was about this time I came across a novel by Anya Seton called Katherine. This novel ignited my love for historical fiction.

I have worked as a stenographer, an office assistant and a teacher in an adult technical college before I started taking writing courses and eventually writing books.

Today I live in the Gold Coast Hinterland and have six books published: Old Magic, The Named, The Dark, The Key, (The Guardians of Time Trilogy) and Hidden, Broken and soon to be released, Fearless (The Avena Trilogy).