Ten Things I Love

• Sculpting limestone, such as this bird:
• My family
• Bees (surprise!)
• Running on the beach
• Moomin books
• Being silly: When I was 15, I ran through the school staffroom in a gorilla suit.
• Riding my bike
• Making compost and growing blackcurrants
• The Marx Brothers
• Caves –  the photo is Moria Cave, Karamea

My Life So Far

I grew up in Christchurch, NZ, where my mother ran a small library (no wonder  I  love books). My first jobs included work at the City Mission, Gardener, Insect Research Assistant; then Primary School teacher for 15 years.

I’ve always enjoyed writing — and I really love children’s books. I read, review them, and now I write them.

Science fascinates me too. I studied bugs at University and have written short science books for NZ and American schools.

I like travel and I’ve recently discovered the wonders of Europe (my parents’ homeland). Favourite spots? Florence (Italy), Schladming (Austria), and Kakadu National Park (Australia).

My wife Penelope Todd is a novelist (and editor) and we have 3 lovely grown up children. We now live in Dunedin because it’s small, friendly, cool and green.

Newspaper interview with me, click here.

Here’s our dog Polly:

Beautiful Austria