I was born in Palmerston North, New Zealand, four days after Christmas 1941. The photo shows me playing with matches at an early age, perhaps my first experiments with chemistry which eventually became a lifelong interest.

My formal education progressed through Terrace End School, Palmerston North Intermediate, Palmerston North Boys' High School, Victoria University, Christchurch College of Education.

 

I began teaching at Hawera High School in 1964, where I met my wife Lynne and where our two children Keri and Neville were born. From there we moved to Rosehill College, Papakura in 1971, with a final shift to Coromandel Area School in 1999. After 44 years of teaching I retired in 2007.
 

My published writing career began in 1973 with a 24 page reader on the interactions of the Earth, Moon and Sun. Several textbooks followed until in the 1990's I decided I wanted to portray science in a different way.

I began writing children's adventure stories which included the things that had fascinated me all my life: science, electronic technology, NZ's unique wildlife, volcanoes, earthquakes and any other natural forces that can have disastrous consequences. The result was A Friend in Paradise 2002, which has now been followed by many others. Hopefully, there are still lots more to come.