Writing books is, on the whole, a solitary thing. For me, that’s one of the pleasures of it, the days with no company except Harry, my cat, and the various Continue reading

When I was a kid, we lived in Launceston and my grandmother and aunts lived in Hobart. So every school holidays we hopped in the car and drove south. It Continue reading

When my country is on fire, is writing children’s books still a useful thing to do? This is a question that has been puzzling me over the last couple of Continue reading

Writing a story set in a particular historical period is tricky. You have to get the details right, which means a lot of research. And while some writers love research, Continue reading

Last week I talked about how important it is for writers to take notice of what’s going on around us, because that’s where so much of our inspiration comes from. Continue reading

My publicist sent me a list of questions the other day for the Children’s Books Daily website. One of them was, ‘Any words of advice for young writers?’ I answered Continue reading

This is an out-take from City of Lies (The Keepers #2), and tells the story of what happened to Morg when Herro Dan sent her to search for Goldie, Toadspit Continue reading

I don’t go anywhere without a notebook. I’ve carried one for years, because I never know when I’m going to see something or hear something or meet someone who gives Continue reading

When people ask me how I got started writing for children, I usually talk about the time roughly 20 years ago when I was writing a whole lot of different Continue reading

I’m having a hard time with one of the neighbourhood cats. Don’t get me wrong, I love cats, most of all Harry, who has lived with me for the last Continue reading