As a child I wrote poems about my cat, just for fun.
Although I was an active child, I loved reading books and would spend hours lounging around the house, reading. My favourite stories had animals in them but I also liked reading the adventure stories that my brother collected.
When I was ten, our school library made a large book out of brown paper. The illustrations were drawn with black marker pen and one day I was chosen to colour in the illustrations. That was when I realised that you could actually make a book! Years later I wanted to make a book of my own so I started writing.
Although I was an active child, I loved reading books and would spend hours lounging around the house, reading. My favourite stories had animals in them but I also liked reading the adventure stories that my brother collected.
When I was ten, our school library made a large book out of brown paper. The illustrations were drawn with black marker pen and one day I was chosen to colour in the illustrations. That was when I realised that you could actually make a book! Years later I wanted to make a book of my own so I started writing.
I chuckle now when I read some of my early writing. My first graded reader published by Sunshine Books was called My Spider Pet. My son had found a large black spider under the barbeque. A lot of my stories are inspired by actual events. I notice them, think about them, imagine them with a quirky ending and then start writing. I love writing in rhyme and sometimes the rhyme takes the story to a place I had not even imagined!
I also write trade picture books. My most well-known book is Perky The Pukeko. I live on a lifestyle block with my family and my animals – one kunekune pig, two goats, two dogs, three cats, one rabbit and one chicken. It’s a bit like living in a zoo.
