Hi, I’m Jackie. My stories are guaranteed to have heart, humor and an ending that will make you smile.

I used to be a high school biology teacher, which probably explains why science seems to sneak its way into so many of my stories.

I live in New Zealand with my husband, three children and a wide assortment of animals including cats, guinea pigs, quail, budgies and fish. The title of ‘Worst Behaved Creature’ is highly contested in our house.

Some other facts about me… 

• I spent two years teaching in East London, where I learned that teenagers are pretty much the same no matter what part of the world they come from.

• The best part of being a science teacher was trying to convince every new class that I have a periodic element named after me (Rutherfordium – check it out).

• I’m yet to learn why sarcasm isn’t a great parenting technique.

• I’m a borderline obsessive sports fan. I mainly follow basketball, cricket and rugby and what I most love about sports is the stories. 

• I breed goldfish and my solution when I have too many goldfish is to build more ponds.

• I did my degree in Zoology and I once had to learn the names of all the bones in a turtle for an exam. I still have fun dreaming up scenarios where this information will actually be useful in the real world.