About me

I am a Melbourne-based author and teacher. I write most days, although I don't always write fiction this regularly. Sometimes it can be a few weeks between working on chapters, because I have a lot of other writing commitments, including writing textbook chapters. But I'm always thinking about the next story I want to tell. My wife can attest to that. When I was in high school, I was not a particularly good student. I wouldn't describe myself as a 'bad' student either, but I tended to be very selective about what I spent my time on. If I liked a subject, I would work hard to complete the work to a high standard, even if it meant working in my spare time. If I wasn't interested, though, there was nothing my teachers could do to get me to work.

Where I did do well in high school was in writing. I still remember a pivotal moment in my writing career; it dates back to an afternoon in year eight. I was sitting in English class, barely paying attention, when my teacher said he wanted us to write a story . He made only one stipulation: that the story must contain the line 'A bottle of champagne stood on the table, two glasses beside it. One was half full, the other half empty.' I wrote from the perspective of a young woman whose car had broken down and knocked on the front door of a nearby house. When she gets inside, the guy seemed helpful enough, and she even accepted a glass of champagne. Then, for no apparent reason, he attacks her. When I finished reading my story, I looked up. Some students looked pale, others' jaws hung open; my teacher was gripping his markbook white-knuckled. That day, I learned that stories have power. I have kept writing ever since.

I began writing seriously at the age of eighteen, and won first prize in Hawthorn Secondary School's inaugural writing award with my short story The Calling. The school gave me a trophy and a cheque for fifty dollars - my first paycheck as a writer. I later used the short story as the first chapter of an as-yet unpublished vampire novel of the same name. Over the last few years I've written novels, articles, movie reviews, text book chapters, screenplays, and a children's picture book.

Currently, I'm interested in telling stories using Transmedia, meaning that the story takes place across a number of mediums, such as television, books and the web. I am also beginning write graphic novels, which looks like it will be an exciting journey. To learn more about me, see my frequently asked questions page. To see which books of mine are currently available, see the current releases page. Or, to be the first to find out what I'll be working on next, visit my upcoming projects page.

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