You want to know why I'm writing novels for young teen and tween girls, right?   

I had some really intense years between 11 and 14. I went to boarding school, made some big decisions, dealt with a lot of stuff, saw a lot of life and took a lot of walks beneath a lot of mountain night skies. 

Some of the books that I loved in those years spoke to me and helped me through. They were like my friends. 

Writing is the gift God's given me, so I want to write books for girls that comfort and amuse and delight and inspire. Basically, I want to pass on that gift of friendship I was given. So that's why I'm writing. And I'd love to get to know you as well. Get in touch and follow me on facebook and twitter and sign up for updates on what's coming out. Let's have some conversations! 

And now, some random facts. 

• I've wanted to be a writer since I was seven years old. (I'm now a lot older than that!)

• I love cake, especially chocolate cake, and I really hate bananas.

• My favourite colour is turquoise blue.

• I wish I'd done ballet or tap dancing and I'd still like to do ballroom lessons one day.

• I'm not very good at sport. I'm not the worst, but I get all confused when they pass me the ball!

• I used to have my nose pierced. And no, the snot doesn't come out the hole when you sneeze.

More important stuff: I'm married to a guy who has red hair and we used to have a dog with the same colour fur (the current dog is black) but none of our four kids ended up with the red hair. They all started out blonde, just like I did. Actually, they all started out bald, just like I did, and then turned blonde. For the record, we've got two boys and two girls which is kind of what I'd always hoped for. 

Other important stuff: I'm a Christian, which means I rely on the fact that God completely loves and accepts me because of Jesus. I wouldn't change the decision I made early on in my life to follow Jesus. He's only done good things for me! If you're interested in a life lived with God, you can find out more about it at www.fervr.com. (I've written some articles on there about friendship too.)

I grew up overseas. I was born in Australia but when I was 3 my parents moved our family to Pakistan where we lived until I was 16. We had regular visits back to Australia, but I really only liked it for its TV programs, chocolate and grandparents, none of which we had in Pakistan. 

I went to a British day school for primary and then an international boarding school for most of my high school, which was equal parts amazing fun and horrendous terrible. I know what it feels like to be a bit of an outsider, to have your friends leave, or to have big upheavals in your life. 

When I came back to Australia with my international, half-American, half-English accent everyone wanted me to "say something - it sounds so cute!"  (Now I sound like more of a regular Aussie. I tend to adapt.)

As a writer, my aim is to write two books a year for the next ten years. If you've got an idea for what you think I should write about, send me an email.

If you'd like to stay in touch, get my monthly newsletter (mostly about what books I recommend) and up-to-date news on my new releases, sign up here. (I don't spam you, and you can unsubscribe at any time.)