I grew up on a dairy farm just outside the border town of Echuca (on the border of the Australian States of Victoria and New South Wales). My folks share farmed with Dad's brother. I've always felt the chores that came with growing up on a working farm helped shape the person I am. That flowed through to my approach in work and indeed in writing. And my love of animals, particularly dogs came from my childhood, and flows through my writing.

While working in the Legal profession, I wrote- letters, briefs, that sort of thing. I honed my skills over 2 decades behind a desk. Once I left that profession, the creative juices started flowing and things rolled from there.

Sitting around a campfire with friends, the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" came up in discussion. Sled dog enthusiasts that we are, the general tone was "how cool would that (extreme weather) scenario be?" Thinking about it later, the thought bouncing around my head was, "what a disaster that would be". And the story grew from there. It really took off when I heard a meterologist say on radio that the movie scenario WAS possible!

My non fiction books, 'Buyer's Guides' for dog owners comes from frustration- working with rescue organisations and seeing hundreds of dogs dumped and killed because people have made bad decisions or not understood the dog they impulse bought. Hopefully, a short, easy to download, quick to read ebook will stop someone from making those same mistakes.

Having initially written just to exercise my brain, it wasn't until someone read my manuscript that I turned my mind to publishing. Their surprise at how much they enjoyed the story, and their belief others would enjoy it, drove me to look at ways to get it published. After a false start with the "Dodgy Brothers" of the publishing world, a friend pointed me in the direction of Smashwords, and I was away!

Ahhh "success"...well, it's all relative I guess! But the ease of an ebook download offered by Smashwords, and the fact that my books have motivated readers to leave some fantastic reviews, all help to spread the word.

The fun of tying the threads of a story together? The satisaction of transfering voices in my head to the written word? The idea that words from my fingertips can transport others to a place of my own imagination? Or the thrill of someone approaching me to tell me how much they loved one of my books? I'm not sure...but it's in there somewhere.

Well, I write for me. Selfish? Absolutely. But if I'm not enjoying it, will anyone else? There's no doubt a fan telling me they loved what I've written is a huge thrill, so definately the fans mean a massive amount.

I have a childrens book pretty much ready to go. It's a joint venture with a very talented illustrator, and is aimed at instilling in young children the idea that we MUST be responsible with our pets.

I also have a sequel to Frozen Below on the go (and yes folks, I'm very aware many of you are waiting VERY impatiently for it!), and I've roughed out a novel based on my experiences working in one of Melbourne's leading Criminal Law legal firms in the 80's.

Matthew Reilly, Anne McCaffrey, Dan Brown, JJR Tolkien, Stephan Donaldson...it's a long and varied list!

My mind is always ticking. Ideas on stories float through. I like to "percolate" them a while and only if they really grab me do I allow them to flow. But once I'm at the keyboard, the words come and I don't stop typing until they are all down.

An example is how to deal with one of the central characters from Frozen Below. It's a character that draws a lot of comment from readers, and they've been very clear in what they want to see happen in the sequel. It has taken me months to work out how to give them what they want, in a way that stays true to the story. Finally I've worked it out, and now I can not wait to share it!

Anything that captures my interest and holds my attention. I love reading about Arctic and Antarctic exploration, but equally love a fantasy that takes me away from reality. As long as it entertains, I'll read it!