Basically, I love words. I am fascinated with language and I relish the challenge of finding the best way to express my thoughts and feelings. One of the greatest joys of writing for me, is being master of the world I have created and sharing my story with others the best way I know how.

There are many, and I enjoy their writing for different reasons. A few that spring to mind straight away are Catherine Elliot, Ken Follett, Philippa Gregory, JK Rowling and Roald Dahl - if you know these authors you'll see it's a real mixed bag. One thing they all have in common, however, is the complexity of their ideas.

From the moment I figured out how to use a pencil (and probably even before that, but only in my head).

No, but I remember the first poem I wrote when I was five about a kangaroo that lived in the zoo (you can probably tell it was a rhyming poem). There are some real pearlers I wrote in my scrapbook at primary school - one that stands out was 'One day Kendall was eaten by a shark'. Kendall was (and still is, surprisingly given I wrote stories like this about her) my best friend, and I drew a picture of a shark with her little legs hanging out of its mouth. I guess I understood from an early age the importance of conflict to a good story.

I get an idea, I think about the idea, it spreads its roots through my mind, I plan, I write, I research, I research, I write, I edit, I edit, I edit, I edit... At some point during this process, preferably near the beginning, I more or less have the whole story figured out, and during the entire process, I seek feedback from others.

I am a primary school teacher, and that keeps me very busy! I also love the theatre - acting and directing - and I enjoy (some!) exercise, like kickboxing, pilates, and indoor netball. Other than that, I mostly spend my spare time with friends and family, which is one of my favourite things to do.

Everything has its place on my desk at work. Each cupboard or shelf houses specific types of materials, there are gifts from my students, paperwork sorted into relevant piles, and lots of stationery. At home, its a different story. My desk is more of a dumping ground for papers that need filing, students' work that needs marking, things I don't really know what to do with but aren't ready to chuck out, and still lots of stationery. When I use my desk at home the rubble gets pushed around to accommodate my work materials.

I grew up in New Zealand, and the main influence this has had on my writing is that I like to set my stories there, although I have also lived in the US and UK. I understand the people of New Zealand better than any other nationality, and I think it is good to write about what you know. I also write in New Zealand English, which is virtually the same as British English, because otherwise my writing looks incorrect (which being a grammar Nazi, I can't stand!).

The birth of 'Summer of Fire' came from me thinking about the love triangle between Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus from Greek legend. If you are familiar with both stories you may not see the connection, and the story has come a long way since then, but once I had that seed in my mind the rest took root and grew from there. Ash's appearance, and, consequently, Alice's, is based on Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' painting.

There exists now the opportunity to publish your work independently that previously was not a viable financial option for a lot of authors, including myself. In saying that, the motivation for me to 'become an indie author' went hand in hand with this opportunity.