I have always been inspired by beautiful stories. I have fond childhood memories of writing and illustrating little books, cutting out cardboard covers and drawing barcodes on the back to make them look 'real' on my family farm on the Darling Downs.

Art always featured in my life, for as long as I can remember I have always painted and drawn. But with a dream to be a writer I embarked on a degree in English Literature and Journalism before commencing a corporate career in Communications. Being the ‘creative person’ at work opened up a lot of opportunities for me and I got the chance to try my hand at many different things including change management, learning and development, innovation and experience design - always with some trusty marker pens by my side. (My husband Ben can bare witness to my lifelong love affair with stationery and craft materials - not just at work but also at home).

When my son Hugo came into my life he further fuelled my spark for story and pictures and I embarked on a new business venture, Thoughts Drawn Out, my company of one that uses visual storytelling to help organisations and individuals communicate and collaborate better. (I love my job).

Having grown up on a farm myself, my desire to get my feet back into the dirt and to give Hugo the same country upbringing that I myself had enjoyed, became my all-consuming focus. So in 2017 we packed up our little family and moved from our tiny city dwelling and took up residence on a farm in the Scenic Rim.

Doing work that I love from a farm that inspires me everyday, surrounded by the family that I adore - is magical. Although a lot of trips back to the city are still required, it just makes the return back to the farm even sweeter.

Inspiration springs up all over the place, on the farm, on family holidays - I never know when the urge to write, paint or draw is going to strike!

During a family trip to Fraser Island a few years back Hugo and I kept a daily journal of our adventures and I spent many hours sitting on the back of our 4WD drawing and painting the landscapes. 

Over the next few months those illustrations and journal became My Island Adventure, my first children's book.

From that point I was hooked. My title The Wildest Street in the City released in August 2018 and my third book is in its early stages. I just love the process of taking a little moment, or a series of little moments and capturing them onto paper.