I was born in Glasgow and did not come to Australia until I was 25. By then I had met an Australian while working in Japan. We were married in Scotland in April 1991 and I moved to Australia in May.

Until December 2008 I worked as a high school English teacher in Sydney with a break in 1997 to have my son.

I spent my maternity leave in Darwin because of my husband’s work.

I was pretty isolated up there so I decided I needed a hobby and started to write.

Initially I had a magazine article published and then a short story in a woman’s magazine. I was determined to continue but we moved back to the Illawarra the following year and I returned to teaching. I didn’t have any time for my new hobby.

In 2005, I started writing my first novel, Something More released by A&U on March 31 2009.

After that I wrote Boofheads, which ended up being released first, in September 2008.

My picture book, Noah’s Garden was contracted in 2006 but won’t be released until next year.

It takes a lot of patience to be a writer … and hard work, a thick skin and a bit of luck too.

2009 brings a change of career for me as I am now working with my husband at our Mortgage Choice franchise in Sutherland, Sydney.

It will be strictly marketing and admin for me as I am rubbish with numbers. It's a bit scary to leave what you know so well and do something completely different but it's also exhilarating.

I am currently working on a book about Kerryn McCann the Olympic and Commonwealth marathon runner who died last December from Breast Cancer. Kerryn was my friend and we had been working on the book for six months before her death.

I have also started my third YA novel.