I am a minority immigrant to Australia from a completely different culture. At school, I was teased and bullied for my heritage. When other children were eating vegemite sandwiches, I was eating open sandwiches with pate and salami. Other students would point to my lunch, call it 'dog meat' and follow me around barking. Eventually, I learned to integrate into my new country and find new friends whilst staying true to my roots. My experiences inform my writing and my choice of protagonist, typically the 'odd-man out' who must integrate into a new culture/society and show resilience and strength of character to overcome adversity. I spend the majority of the year in remote locations around the globe researching culture and story.
