ABOUT ME

It takes hard work to make writing look easy.

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I am passionate about writing and sailing, and for much of my career, I have combined them in magazine articles and non-fiction books.

As yachting editor, later editor, of Boating New Zealand from 1998 to 2008, and from 2013 to 2015 I've covered hundreds of new boats and I was incredibly lucky to be a yachting journalist in New Zealand's heyday: the late 1990s when New Zealand blossomed under the win of the America's Cup through most of the 2000s until the Global Financial Crisis. I covered more than 20 superyachts built in New Zealand, many of which won international awards for best build and innovation. I wrote for some of the world's highest profile boating magazines: Boat International, Supersail World, YachtingWorld, Yacht International and Practical Boat Owner.

Editors of magazines such as these demand a writer's best work and so it happens. 

I often say that journalists know a little about a lot. My training has given me the ability to research new subjects and deliver them in a style that is easy to read.

I have strong skills in grammar, thanks to studying Latin at school; a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English helped me appreciate a wide range of techniques in literature.

My Diploma in Short Story Writing skilled me in tools such as metaphor, rhythm and imagery to bring power to a story.

Despite this, I never thought of writing as a profession until my late 20s when my first story was a finalist in the Sunday Star Short Story Competition. I finally realised my destiny and completed a Certificate in Journalism.

I wrote for a wide range of magazines, including Boating New Zealand and the magazine won multiple awards under my editorship. Awards are nice to have and I value training in journalism, but ultimately writing for me is about integrity, listening to my inner voice and respecting my reader.