Save the date! April 15, 2021!
April 15-21 is World Creativity and Innovation Week. I’ll be interviewed by @bridgetphetasy about my creative process. We’ll talk about taking risks and daring to fail greatly. We’ll also talk […]
A photo of my dad at school
It’s hard to imagine but once upon a time, your parents went to school, just like you! Here is a photo I found of my father at school in […]
There’s no such thing as an inappropriate question if you’re seven-years-old
It’s Book Week here in New Zealand and yesterday I spent two wonderful hours with Ellerslie School. As usual, my favourite part of the talk is question time: Where do […]
My dog taught me how to draw
My dog is a pain in the butt, but I love him. I love him because he’s instantly become a part of our family. Growing up, we always had a dog […]
The day R2D2 threw me into a trash can
One of my favourite interviews in my radio career was with Kenny Baker, otherwise known as R2D2. Kenny was a circus and cabaret performer before a phone call came […]
This little shop was the inspiration for my first children’s novel
In my children’s novel My Best Worst Year, the main character Toby often visits his grandma in her second-hand shop named ‘Junk and Disorderly.’ The inspiration for this came from […]
When you accidentally meet the main character from your novel
I was walking along Ponsonby Road in Auckland on a beautiful morning when I ran into an old mate with his ten-year-old son. Here was a kid dressed in […]
Dr Seuss was right – your first draft always stinks!
Here’s a little story to prove it. In 1964, Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ was published in the UK. It took over two years to write and underwent […]
Jack Reads Books Reviews Freakout Island
Thanks, Books Jack Reads for your lover-leee review of Freakout Island. Jack adds – ‘There’s a strong element of mystery in this story too, as everyone slowly realises that both […]