What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life? The fact that, despite the full-time job, I can still find time to write books. So many people get into a rut, thinking they can’t manage it, that there’s no time. But it’s not true. If you really want something, you find the time.
What is your favorite color? Green
What is your favorite food? Beetroot and yoghurt salad.
What’s your favorite place in the entire world? Monemvasia.
How has your upbringing influenced your writing? Being the daughter of a semi-famous rock ‘n’ roll duo from Melbourne, Australia, I grew up surrounded by song. For a while it seemed logical to travel the musician’s path, especially when my first band, spAnk, hit it off in the Melbourne indie music scene back in the late 90s. Although I spent years writing and recording dozens of songs I decided I also had a love for the written word. So I guess music started everything off.
When and why did you begin writing? I started writing poetry first. I must have been about eleven, sitting on a rock by the sea in a little place in Greece called Monemvasia. I was so inspired by my surroundings that I needed a way to express it. Not long after, I started writing songs. My mother had decided to sell her twelve-string acoustic guitar to get a bit of extra cash. I saw it sitting by the front door. I think someone was coming over to take a look at it. I remember opening the case and thinking that it just looked so beautiful, and why would Mum want to get rid of it? I think she was in the music room at the time and I interrupted one of her recording sessions to ask about the guitar. When she told me she was selling it, I asked her whether I could have it. She said that I could if I learnt to play. From that day I had that guitar in my hands every single day until I moved to Greece in 2002. I taught myself how to play. The first song I ever wrote was played on one string and sung in a very high-pitched awful voice. I hope that cassette never gets dug up!
What genre are you most comfortable writing? Contemporary fiction. Realistic. Not into fantasy or paranormal at all.
What made you want to be a writer? I just realized one day that I couldn’t live without it. And figured, if I’m going to be writing all the time, I might as well try to get published.
What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? If I’m too influenced by other people’s ideas it will skew my own. So I only ever seek an opinion once I’m confident about the final result. And I will only ever change something, then, if the suggestion completely resonates with me. Of course, I always keep an open mind. Nothing is ever set in stone. But I find this a challenge because it’s so hard to keep things to myself when I’m excited about them. I just want to share it with everybody.
Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? That sometimes bite-sized ideas can also become bite-sized books!
Do you intend to make writing a career? Absolutely. But I try to be realistic about it. I do it because I can’t not do it. Not to make money.
Have you developed a specific writing style? Yes. My writing is quite literary in nature, but I also think it has a decent amount of commercial appeal; a balance of both.
What is your greatest strength as a writer? I have a real knack for cinematic writing. I’d probably beat you in a “show-off”. 
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Genre – Non-Fiction / Writing Skills Reference
Rating – PG
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