I have another women's fiction manuscript in the last stages of editing. This is a bit grittier than my earlier stories. There's a mystery, suspense, characters with flaws, a beach setting, bushfire and of course a romance. I'm entering this one in The Banjo Paterson Prize. Wish me luck.

This changes from year to year but at the moment it's got to be Delia Owens. Where the Crawdads Sing is the best book I've read in decades. I adore it and can't wait for the movie. I'm also a fan of Michelle Somers, Trent Dalton, Jane Harper, TM Clark, Michael Rowbotham and Mandy Magro (all Australian). Then there's Kirstin Hannah and of course Nora Roberts.

I'm up before the sun most days. There's not enough time in a day to complete everything I want to do, so I need each moment. I like to stretch, do yoga, or exercise before opening the laptop, work at my writing business for a couple of hours, go to my employment, come home and do more writing, editing, marketing or reading. I appreciate life. I guess my dog inspires me to get out of bed each day too. She needs to pee or go for a walk.

Reading or walking along the beach near where I live. There are lots of national parks and small mountains to climb too. I love being out in nature. I spend a lot of time with family too. Other times I like to catch up with my writing friends. It's motivational to see how other writers keep up the craft.

Yes, kind of. My mum and dad said it was called The Mouse with the Musical Ears and I wrote it in second class. I was about six or seven. My teacher said I would be a writer. I believed her and have always written since that day, poems, short stories, magazine articles and my first book-length manuscript when my babies were little.

I've tried my hand at other genres like sci-fi/fantasy, category romance and others but I am most comfortable with women's fiction with romantic suspense. I think it's where my author's voice is happiest. It's where I sing.

Find readers. Without doubt, it's the pleasure of a stranger saying they love my books. Family and friends may feel obligated to read but someone who doesn't know me is only reading for the pleasure of a good book. I love that and appreciate every single reader from the bottom of my heart.

The world.