I’m a journalist, teacher and author with my first book for young teens due to be published by Scholastic and launched next year.

In March I won the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award for an unpublished author and this has given me the encouragement to keep writing. A sequel is underway and I think there may be a lot more adventures still to come for my young characters.

When I’m not working on my novel or writing short stories, I teach young people how to pass NCEA English, and/or improve their writing skills. In summer I go sailing with my husband on our boat Dawn Treader. Some of the islands in Mercury Bay feature in my novel and the second one is set on Great Barrier Island, another favourite sailing destination.

I love talking to children and young people about writing, life, climate change and making a difference.