Born in the U.K., I immigrated to New Zealand at the age of ten. Growing up and adapting to life in a new country sparked a lifelong curiosity about how people evolve when confronted with environments and cultures very different from the ones they once knew.

My early working life with an airline enabled me to travel extensively, spending time observing people, their relationships, and the ways history and culture shape everyday lives. Through these experiences, I developed a deep interest in the human stories that unfolded behind great moments in history and how these moments continue to shape the world around us.

Drawn to novels that balance historical scope with intimate storytelling, I became particularly interested in fiction where the past feels both vividly realised and emotionally intimate. My belief is that history is at its most powerful when seen through the lens of individual lives and the transformations that occur within larger historical moments.

After visiting India a number of times, I became particularly interested in the social structures of the British Raj and the realities of colonial life for both British and Indian families. The period had a rich complexity and dramatic contrasts, and I became inspired to tell the story of some of the individuals whose lives were shaped by the collision of empire, landscape and culture.  

While researching the social world of the late Victorian and Edwardian Britain and India, I sought to uncover the kind of story that may exist behind official historical records. My debut novel, Of Iron and Incense, is a story of people and families navigating unfamiliar worlds, of relationships that cross rigid social boundaries, and of a woman whose influence unfolded quietly but profoundly.

I also drew inspiration from my father's lifelong passion for railways. India's vast railway network, one of the enduring legacies of the colonial era, became a natural focal point for my research. The Kalka–Shimla railway, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was one of the most ambitious projects of the Raj, with dramatic tunnels, bridges and winding mountain tracks. The railway provided both a historical backdrop and a metaphor for the journeys undertaken by the characters in my story. 

Today I live in New Zealand and continue to be inspired by the enduring connection between history and the human experience. I am currently working on my next book and continue to read, research and travel to places that carry echoes of the past.