I am writing under a pen name because I have published widely as an academic and I want to differentiate between my former life and my current passion, historically based fiction.  I enjoy researching material and then once it's absorbed I let my imagination transform the facts into a plausible and hopefully enjoyable story. My previous experiences as a geologist, academic and public servant give great scope for developing characters around various themes and topics with which I am familiar, particularly murder mysteries and thrilling novels.  I write for the pleasure of seeing words emerge on a page; the result of an active imagination. My first novel is called  Who Killed the Girls?  It's  based on a true story, a cold murder case that was solved in 2009.  The case is finally solved forty years after the shooting of two girls in a shop in Virginia.  It involves an intriguing case of false accusations, the complexities of human relationships, sexual abuse, homosexuality, bullying, and love.  I'm also writing a novel concerning the life of an Irish orphan who went to Australia during the potato famine in 1848.  The story tells of her struggles in Ireland and after settling in the new continent.   I've written short stories and have plans for several novels.  No Time for Tears and Secrets at Hanging Rock are now published as paperbacks and as eBooks.  

I don't have any awards for writing, but my academic work has been recognized. I was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.