Bernice's mind whirls with stories; truth is negotiable. When a local actress is robbed, Bernice uncovers vital clues, but no one believes her except Ike, a one-legged fisherman.
Writing Awards
2010 Allen & Unwin and Queensland Writer's Center Manuscript Development Program for middle-grade novel, The Art of Magic
2009 CYA Children and Young Adult Writing Competition: First Place in middle-grade novel category for, Making it Count
2006 Smartwriters WIN Competition: First Place in Chapter Book Category for From the
Diary of Jarrod Crisp
2005 Smartwriters WIN Competition: Honourable Mention in YA category for Nioka
Publishing Credits
Maggie Eats Only ‘O's - short story, Highlights for Children, June 2014
The Way the Mop Flops - short story, Highlights for Children, November 2013
The Art of Magic – middle grade novel, Solstice Publishing, July 2012
Cock-a-doodle – Short story, Highlights for Children, March 2012
Don't, Picture book, Soto Publishing (USA), March 2011
120 short stories (second grade) for Innovations for Learning, Chicago-based educational program.
http://www.innovationsforlearning.org / 2009-2011
Human-made Disasters, Educational non-fiction Acer Press, 2008
Who Am I, Educational non-fiction, Blake Education, 2008
Relationships, Educational non-fiction, Blake Education, 2008
Body image, Educational non-fiction, Blake Education, 2008
The Kidnapping, Chapter Book, Insight Publications, October 2006
The Cyclops, Short story, Highlights for Children, July 2006
Crash, Chapter Book, Blake Education, 2005
Staying Alive, Chapter Book, Blake Education, 2005
Goodbye, Chapter Book, Blake Education, 2005
The Contract, chapter book, Trekkers Series – Macmillan, Underwood Consulting and Publishing, 2005
Pea Mountain, humorous short story, Kid Time Magazine, June 2005
The Wake Up Call, adult non-fiction, Reader’s Digest, October 2004
Long Leg Gloption, chapter book, Loranda Publishing, August 2004
My Mom Hates to Cook, humorous short story, Highlights for Children (USA), October 2003
The Hiccups, short story, Wizard Books, Ziptales, June 2003
Please Listen, picture book / early reader, Cambridge University Press
I want to make children laugh.
I want to encourage tiny twists in their minds that allow them to see that skies aren't always blue and warts can be beautiful. I want them to understand that an entire village may, and probably does, exist in their sock drawers and that baggy knees are often a sign of wisdom.
I want them to read my books and enter a world where anything is possible and the only limits are their own.
I want to make a difference.
As writers, we are compelled to write.
We capture ideas and convert them into words. We read and reread,
rearrange and delete. We reverse, add, combine and revise. Some of our words bounce and skittle from the page and some are embedded --
forever.
Our words have the power to heal or destroy. They can weave through thoughts and scatter the senses or grab a dream and pin it down. They can elicit a giggle and stifle a sob or trigger a torrent of tears.
As writers we can contribute to the lives of our children and allow them to shape the world.