Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

A New Zealander by birth, I’ve been a proud Australian now for over 30 years. Mid 2002, I quit my high-pressure management job and moved with my husband to a farm about ninety minutes north-east of Melbourne to write fulltime. Since then, I’ve written five (six if you count my first one, now banished to the bottom drawer never to see the light again) standalone contemporary murder mysteries.

I like to laugh, drink coffee, spend time alone, spend time in company, and get close to nature. I dislike crowds, hospitals and offal. My star sign is Virgo.

Describe your book ‘Fatal Liaison’ in 30 words or less.

Greg and Megan, each with an ulterior motive, sign up with a dating agency that arranges dinner parties for hopeful singles, one of whom turns up dead. Another is missing.

What was the hardest part of writing your book? 

Not being able to turn off my internal editor when I need to. I tend to edit as I go (as well as when the book is finished), but sometimes she drives me crazy with her obsessive get-it-right-now mantra. Frustration plus.

That and the blurb. Have you ever tried to condense a 75,000-word story down to a couple of paragraphs? I’d rather write a novel.

What books have had the greatest influence on you?

With the exception of the dictionary, I wouldn’t say any one book has had a major influence on me. Books as a collective have. Even with six children under the age of ten, my parents always read us a bedtime story. I grew up loving books and, as the family’s bookworm, spent many happy hours in the school library.

Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?

I promote my books through a combination of reviews from respected reviewers, paid advertising (Bookbuzzr, Goodreads, Pixel of Ink etc), and an announcement on the Kindle Board forum. But by and far, the best marketing comes from word of mouth, from readers who love my stories and want to share them with others. Readers are king.

How do you spend your time when you are not writing?

Writing is my primary focus, but I’m also a freelance web designer. I enjoy both the creativity of design and the technical IT aspects of the discipline.

My hobby is photography. I’m learning new skills all the time. It’s also an excellent excuse to explore the countryside on the weekend. For the last couple of years, I’ve tried to maintain a daily photo blog featuring photos of life in rural Australia.

What are you working on next?

I’m currently researching ideas for my next novel by immersing myself in crime reports from around the world. The more bizarre cases really get the creative juices flowing.