Two things dominated my childhood. Ponies and books. It would be fair to say that most of the books featured ponies. As I got older, boys were included in the list - but only boys who rode ponies. Later, it was men with horses - but you get the general idea.

         I wasn't the world's worst horsewoman. I competed at local horse shows and won my share of ribbons. Realising I couldn't pay the bills like that, I turned to my other great passion - the written word.

         My parents, being practical souls, decided I needed a good education - and I was sent off to University of Queensland in Brisbane, where I discovered that men weren't always attached to horses. I loved university. I made friends, joined the rowing team, joined the debating society, went to parties - and passed the occasional exam.

         After University, my love for writing was channelled into journalism, an almost respectable paying job. I worked as a reporter and producer of news and other factual TV programmes in Australia, Hong Kong and the UK.

         I got to see and do a lot of unusual things.

         I met some interesting people, including one Pope, at least three Prime Ministers, a few movie stars and a dolphin. I also got to see a lot of Australia.

         Unfortunately, it was usually during a flood or a bushfire.

         Somewhere in the 1980's I met my first computer and it was love at first sight. At a time when a mouse still squeaked and windows were something you avoided washing, I had a computer with a half written novel on its disk drive.

         I now work as a consultant, implementing high end digital systems in TV stations and production facilities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

         Not only does this pay the bills, it has taken me to a lot of really interesting places, and allowed me to meet some remarkable people.

         All through this - I continued to write.

         My first fiction, a short story called The Last Dragon, was published in 2002. Since then I have had numerous short stories published. You'll find a lot of them on this web site.

         My first novel, written when I was about 11 years old, was a total disaster. I think my father still has it somewhere. The novels got better as I got older, but were put on hold during my years as a journalist. My first published novel should arrive in a bookstore near you next year. I can't give too much detail yet, but it might not surprise you to learn that it is set in Australia and does feature men on horses.

         Now - a confession. I don't live in Australia any more.

         I live in West London.

         The reason - well, he's English, about five feet 10 inches tall and has green eyes. He does not ride a horse, but we do have a large grumpy black and white cat.

         We met in Hong Kong more than 14 years ago. We still return to Australia each year to visit family and friends and every English winter I swear we are moving back to warmer climes for good.