I am a novelist working on a YA series.
Creating this series has been the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer. It’s the tale of two Aussie teenagers – one a scientific genius, the other street smart – travelling through history in a time machine. How will they try to fix problems in ancient times, what people will they meet and fall for on the way? And how will it change the world – and them – as a result?
I’ve just finished writing the sixth and final book in the series, which sees the teenage protagonists travel to all my favourite historical periods – Ancient Egypt, Medieval England, the Wild West of America, the pirate era, Edo Japan and fifteen years into the future, for the finale.
Now, I am actively looking for a publisher. Wish me luck! Or, if you’re a publisher or agent, get in touch!
But novels are not all I write.
An indefatigable scribbler, I also write short stories and short plays – many of which I have directed myself at Short and Sweet, Sydney play festival.
I’ve written full-length screenplays too. One of my scripts, an animation, was nominated by the Australian Writers Guild for best unproduced script nationally. Unfortunately, without an agent, no-one in the Australian or international film production business would even read it!
I’ve written heaps of short film scripts too, and had a crack at making and directing them myself – mostly as no-budget films with my family in all the acting and technical roles. We’re not great actors, but the stories are strong. And the effort it took to shoot and edit them, with music track, was nothing short of epic. They gave me a much deeper appreciation of the effort it takes to make a film. They’re all available to view on vimeo here on Myvimeosite. It’s cathartic to be able to make a film, without having to raise funding or ask anyone else to back you.
I have also written and directed 10-minute plays for the Short and Sweet Sydney play festival for the past eight years. Subject matter ranges from the serious Second Chance, about hit-and-run accident, to the mysterious Monet Monet Monet, an art gallery heist, and the rom-com Boyfriend 2.0 in which a human male competes with an A.I. for the love of a woman. Videos of most of these are on Myvimeosite.
In my earlier career, I was a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, a major Australian newspaper.
Where’s Holmes, a collection of stories set in the world of Sherlock Holmes, without the detective actually appearing, includes my story, The Case of the Reverse Thief.