The story so far…

I have spent 5 years in the publishing industry.
I have been a submission reader and or/social media lead for small presses and journals in the UK USA and NZ.
For three years I worked for an international indi-publishing house, working my way up from intern to co-publisher and resigned for ethical reasons.
For four years I have been a permeant editor at The Metaworker.

I’m on the committee for SpecFicNZ (also supporting the 2024 Anthology), a member of New Zealand Society of Authors, the Morgan Town Writers Group and a number of other local and international writers groups.

I have worked with The Writers Practice in support of the Kapiti Writers Retreat and regularly attended publishing, writers and readers conferences and festivals both across NZ and remotely across the world!

reel of readers reviews on published books I have worked on as of September 2023

A year into my art degree and my academic brain was getting hungry again. Through Art school I stumbled across the idea that maybe I could study folk-lore, sadly not something recognized in NZ education systems, but that did lead me to anthropology and a transfer to Massey University so I could study via distance.

For two and a half years I was a double full time student walking dogs to keep bread on the table. After being selected to travel to South India for a special study tour program, I got home to find myself in burn out. By the time I’d got myself sorted to come back to finish my degree, the whole world of university had changed. I spent a full 6 months fighting for the right to get that super expensive piece of paper without having to start from scratch, again! I dropped my minor (Classics) and spent a final year completing a double BA in English Literature (including many creative writing papers of course!) and Anthropology.

So yes, it took me 15 years to get a degree most ordinary people complete in three years. But what this journey taught me, that is priceless! I have now studied with a grand total of 5 different institutes and I have no doubt that number will increase!

It all begins with an idea.

For me, all life is story and I think what makes us human is our ability to both interpret and tell stories.

I grew up in a house where there were genuinely more books than wall or floor space. I’m convinced that book-ism is an incurable hereditary addiction for which there is no cure!

I think my insatiable hunger for stories is what allowed me to spend 15 years as a student, and what meant it took me so incredibly long to settle on a degree.

I began as a theatre and film major with a minor in Art History and English at Victoria University of Wellington. At 18 I didn’t really know who I was yet, so after a year, I literally took off my shoes and walked life bare foot for a while and made all the kinds of mistakes that give you a degree in life lessons.

I went back to study with Philosophy and Classics as my majors, Literature and Old English and Astronomy and auditing biology and psychology papers… and discovered the real meaning of ‘existential crisis’ and needed to take some time off studies. After a few more years doing a PHD in life lessons, the hunger for tutorage returned and I enrolled in art school with The Learning Connexion as a distance student. I loved it!



And why do you need to know this?

Well, it’s my long winded and unique journey that gives me something different, something not everyone has. My diverse balance of life experience, education, creativity, tenacity and exposure to a wide assortment of social worlds has set me up with skills that are impeccably designed for story telling.

My history in the dramatic arts set me up to understand not only character, problem solving and theatrics, but also how to connect with people in a different way. Couple this with a diverse area of academic interests (including Small Business studies at the Open Polytech!) proven intelligence (A grade averages for all applicable final year papers) a life time of reading, a fascination for biological and social culture, the constant need to be curious about the world and a desire to make creativity flourish wherever there is passion, and you have a power-house of possibility on your hands.

Developmental Editor, Marketing, Events, Advice,

Developmental Editor, Marketing, Events, Advice,

And that’s what leads me here, to creating a webpage where you can read a bit about who i am and decide if I’m someone you want to work with on your next creative project.

Like me, this space is a work in progress. As I evolve, I’m sure it will too!

But for now, I want to help creatives who feel they need someone in their corner helping them progress to the next step.

I will only take on projects that I feel passion for. If I cant see your vision or feel connected to what your trying to achieve, I wont be the right person for you to work with. I strongly believe their is an element of vulnerability in all creativity and I strive to insure any job I take on will respect that.