Where do you currently live?
I've just moved to Wellington after living in
Australia for the last six years. I was born and raised
in Christchurch so it's good to be back in New Zealand.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
This is my first book - it's about the Anzacs at
Gallipoli. I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’ve
always been interested in war. As an 8 year old I got my
dad to take me into the army barracks in Christchurch so
I could ask what I needed to do to join. It was during
the lead up to the Gulf War, as a teenager, that I
became anti-war and that feeling hasn’t been changed
by recent events. While living in Australia I realised
how much Gallipoli meant to Australians and how little I
knew about the war and New Zealand’s role in it. After
reading about it, I knew it was a story I wanted to
tell.
How long did it take you to write this book?
As a kid I wanted to be a vet, a hit man or a soldier
(very strange combination, I know!). Now I don't know
what else I'd like to be, other than a writer. But even
so, I've had to work as a dishwasher, a housepainter, in
a call centre, a chicken factory and once I picked
tomatoes for five hours - but I gave up because it was
too hot...
Write heaps, tell people you want to be a writer and
when you think you've written something good, don't be
afraid to show others.
What are some of the pitfalls you have experienced as
a writer?
As a writer you work at home a lot and it can turn
you into a hermit, so you almost forget how to talk to
people. There were times when I didn't want to answer
the phone, let alone talk to my friends. Before I got
published, I used to hate it when people asked me what I
did. If I told them I was a writer, the first thing
they'd ask was what I'd had published. At least now I
can say Scarecrow Army!
What was the best thing that happened in your writing
career?
Having this book published, starting to believe that
readers like my writing and meeting other writers.
