Growing up in America I got to see two sides of the country. Born in Phoenix, Arizona I experienced the dry heat and the desert regions, but around 5, we moved to Michigan to get a fresh start where I experienced snow, snow, sleet, ice, cold, and more snow during those wintery months and the deep green of the grass and trees during spring and summer.

Most of my life was spent in smaller towns in Michigan so everyone seemed to know everyone and the secrets were kept close to the family. If not, the whole town would end up knowing about it. I learnt at a young age not to 'air out the dirty laundry' and so many things were internalised.

Also being in a small town meant living outside of town as well. In Coleman, Michigan, the A-Frame we lived in was miles and miles from the Main Street of town. We had more trees than neighbours, so going outside and playing was pretty much me and my siblings. (Also my cat, Whiskey.) We had great adventures and it really contributed to my imagination and helped develop my skills in writing! When we moved again, we were in a little community against a lake just outside of town and so that provided an even different environment to adjust to, but again, it was a small town and our family at this time were very private. So there were many years of sitting beneath my favourite tree writing poetry and stories.

I love telling this story. I was in my early years of primary/elementary school. I had a lovely teacher who took me under her wings and nurtured me. My writing came about because I would tell these exaggerated stories at Show and Tell. It would drive the kids crazy because I would act out that they were real. The teacher took me aside and told me that I had a great imagination and a great skill for telling stories. She'd spend time tutoring me in writing sentences and working on my spelling. She never focused on my handwriting or the way I held my pencil, so I didn't feel any pressure to get it right. She accepted me the way that I was. Of course, she'd write down a lot of my ideas as well. She tutored me in reading and even a bit of drama I think to help act out my stories as I wrote them. Soon, my Show and Tells were just me reading out my stories. I'd totally add more in as I read it and the teacher noticed and loved it. I've been writing ever since.

The first story I ever wrote was after I watched Disney's The Blackhole. I wrote my own version of the story but about my family. The words started off from the middle of the page and spiralled outwards. I'll publish a version of it one day maybe. I don't know. Pretty sentimental. And I was like in year 2, so the concept was just brilliant. Find that kid an agent!

He Was A Boy Who Smiled is about me. I am a survivor of domestic violence. Years of it in fact. I was 21 when I saw my father act out in violence for the last time before moving to Australia. This story is important for me to share because for years I was silent about it. I wasn't believed. People just assumed I had that active imagination, but the truth was, I had an active imagination because of the violence. It was my way to help me get through such horrors!

I know there are others out there who have grown up in a very similar situation and there are others out there now who are growing up in a same situation. This book is for them...for us. This book is there voice and their truths. It's time to stop the violence. It's time we as a people come together and really stand firm in that it needs to stop and it needs to change.

It's hard for me to swallow that I was a lucky one. So many others had their lives taken from them. I never found my hero, but I ended up being my own. This book is the beginning of that story.

So, I've been writing for years. I had this ideal in my head that I had to send my stories out to publishers. I'd wait for their rejection letters or I'd wait to hear the good news. Eventually I'd see my book in a book store and go from there. The last few years I've had a few people tell me to self-publish it as an ebook. I couldn't get over my ideals. I had my mind set on one dream and didn't see that my dream could still happen but it different forms. A few months ago, I was given a big push from my editor to do so. I also had someone very close to me say that as a child I did things my own way so why shouldn't I continue to do so as an adult? They made great points!

Right now I have editing to do for Book Two of He Was A Boy Who Smiled and then after that I have the editing to do with Book Three. I'm hoping to just flow into each edit easily and get them out some time next year (which isn't that far away).

After that, I have a plethora of books I've written throughout the years that need to be edited and rewritten that my younger self has been screaming for me to do for years (almost decades for some!).

Depends on my mood but I like to find a good cafe that has a decent cup of coffee and write a bit. The people around me give me inspiration, but if my brain isn't in the mood for noise, I find a quiet place in my house after making a decent cup of coffee and write. A good thing to point out though is that I tend to write pencil to paper first as my first draft and then type it up into my second draft. The most important thing to point out though is that I have a decent cup of coffee no matter where I am writing.

For me, it's all about the readers or the listeners. I love seeing their reactions. I love hearing their responses. So when I'm writing, I write with a specific message in mind so that the reader is constantly engaged or have a reaction that I want to get out of them. There are some writers out there who write solely for themselves and I get that, too, but my greatest joy is to share my story, put the pages down, or meet up with them after they've read it and listen to how it has personally impacted them. (For the better I always hope, but sometimes I get a sour look. Then I distract them with a coffee.)

I really enjoy Garth Nix and hoping to get my books out that are part of his genre. I'm a fan of J. K. Rowling both as a writer and as a person. I have my childhood authors that I'll always keep close to my heart: Frank Baum, Gary Paulson, Jerry Spinelli, E. L. Konigsburg, Lynne Reid Banks, Madeline L'Engle...wow there are so many. There's heaps more and I'm avoiding standing in my library and just listing them all. I haven't even gotten to some of the classics or the poetry. Whitman. Poe. I need to stop now. (So many!)

My partner inspires me every day. The need to write gives me purpose. A good cup of coffee helps get me out of bed, too. Then there's the latest television series I need to finish or the next movie in the MCU universe or the next game I want to play...many reasons to get out of bed...but mostly my partner, writing and coffee.

When I'm not writing, I'm usually talking about my writing even while watching a movie or a tv series with my partner. I love to explore Australia. I haven't even seen half of what this country has to offer and I've lived here for almost 15 years. I'm an avid gamer whether it's tabletop gaming or video gaming. I find those things help fuel my imagination to write the next thing.