I’m a writer of fiction and nonfiction based in Canberra, Australia. By day I teach writing at the Australian National University, and by night I build written worlds for my latest speculative fiction project. 

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature, an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Gender Studies. My degrees have allowed me to hone my critical thinking skills and apply them in my teaching and writing. 

Before graduating with my BA from Boston College, I fell in love with creative nonfiction, and focused on that genre during my MFA. The plan was to teach English Literature in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and then write a book about it. Eventually, I achieved my goal, and Abu Dhabi Days, Dubai Nights was published in 2012.

Inspired by all I’d learned about travel memoir writing, I taught workshops on the genre around Australia, and finally wrote down the popular step-by-step process I taught in the how-to book, Write Your Travel Memoir: A Step-by-Step Guide. This book aims to help aspiring writers make meaningful stories from their travels. 

Through my experiences teaching academic writing to brilliant international students at the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University, I was inspired to write Layla and Rina, a novel that focuses on the experience of a student from Indonesia, and the American academic who betrays her. This book is out on submission. 

Now, my interests have shifted into fiction focused on our future possibilities. Currently, my short stories on submission and my next novel have a speculative bent.