WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE!

	*BOOK NEWS: Takeshita Demons* and Takeshita Demons: The Filth Licker are out now!!** If you like spooky monsters, want to learn more about Japanese mythology, or need a great read for 8 to 12s, check them out! Takeshita Demons: Monster Matsuri is out June 2012, with Takeshita Demons 4 scheduled for May 2013...
	*GAMES AND RESOURCES: Try some fantastic games, teaching resources and activity ideas featuring Takeshita Demons, yokai, Japanese mythology and more.*
	*BOOK HONOURS: Takeshita Demons* was featured on the BBC's Blue Peter Book Club in January 2011.** Takeshita Demons was also selected for the 2010 Booked Up list, the WA Premier's Summer Reading Challenge and BookTrust's book of the month.
	WHAT ABOUT YOUR REAL JOB? I'm a biotechnologist, writer, editor and presenter... I've edited CSIRO's Scientriffic magazine, performed with Questacon's science circus, helped with PR for CERN's atom smasher, worked as a teacher and editor in Japan, and written for many magazines and papers.
	AWARD NEWS: 2009 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award Takeshita Demons has won the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award for diversity in childrens' fiction.
	MY PUBLISHING START: My first children’s manuscript, One Weekend with Killiecrankie, won a “Young and Emerging Writer” fellowship, awarded by Varuna House, and the 2008 Voices on the Coast writing competition. Thanks to Varuna House and Julia Lawrinson for their help and advice.
	LATEST ACTIVITIES: I have just finished the fourth Takeshita Demons book and am working on some new ideas and as an editorial consultant, helping to make complex scientific information more accessible and interesting.
	FEATURE ARTICLES: I also write feature articles for magazines: popular science, great food and my favourite: tropical island getaways.