ABOUT ME

The short version: First Connecticut. Then Texas. Now Āotearoa! 

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Originally from Connecticut with a serious soft-spot for Texas and Prince Edward Island (Canada), I now live within walking distance of a swimming beach in Christchurch (New Zealand) with my partner, Mel, our two teens, Kahu and Mya, plus two cats (Diva and Onyx) and a dog (Tui). 

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My writing has made lists (NZSA Heritage Awards for Poetry, Takahē Monica Taylor Pize for Poetry) and won contests (National Flash Fiction Day 2020, Meniscus Copyright Agency Ltd Prize for Prose 2019). I am an occasional teacher at WRITE ON: The School for Young Writers in Christchurch.

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When I'm not writing or at work, you can find me playing games, reading, or dreaming of my next adventure. 

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A few favourites:

• Video Game: The Last of Us 

• Young Adult Fiction: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman; Hatchet by Gary Paulsen  

• Adult Fiction: The True Story of Hansel & Gretel by Louise Murphy; The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx; The Road by Cormac McCarthy

• Poetry: Native Bird by Bryan Walpert; The Blue Outboard by Nick Williamson; Fires by Raymond Carver

• Songs: 'Polaroids' by Shawn Colvin; 'Love Will Come to You' by the Indigo Girls; 'The Unforgettable Fire' by U2

• Movies: The Black Stallion; The Point (with Alan Thicke narrating); Bladerunner - the director's cut

• Food: mochaccinos, homemade soup, cilantro