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 - it 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.