I have been avidly involved in story-telling since childhood and eventually found myself teaching Classical Studies and English to senior secondary students from 2001. Two books of stories came in this period, the first winning the Imprints fiction prize in 2004.

The novel Made in Cambodia came out of a writing doctorate at UTS 2014-2017. Then the 1840s-set novel The Glass Harpoon (HNSA Award longlist 2021) investigated relations between colonists and First Nations people in South Australia. My articles have appeared in the Sydney Review of Books, Mekong Review and other journals. My new novel Aspasia and Pericles plunges into the heart of classical Greece.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

It would have to be someone from the ancient world as life was just so different before Christianity. Socrates is a character in my new novel and though dinner with him should be a frugal affair (or would it be? that's one of the questions) I would canvas many issues about ancient Athens. Just what was the real status of women of the different social classes and how much say did they have in daily life? How is the radical democracy faring after the death of Pericles? Did people really still believe in the old Olympian gods and mystery cults or was atheism and agnosticism taking hold? It would also be interesting to see whether Socrates actually ate as much garlic as he was supposed to - he saw it as the secret to a long and healthy life. For me to write authentic historical characters, I think an evening with Socrates would be enthralling.