Since I was a very young child, I have loved words and figuring out how to put them together—­­’Grammar is the ground of all’, as one of my favourite authors, William Langland, puts it.

In my adult life, I’ve published a wide range of stories, poems, essays, film-scripts, journal articles and literary criticism. I’m now working on The Gannet Quartet, a series of novels set in stone-age Scotland.

Living on an estuary on the Central Coast of New South Wales with my wife, I spend a lot of time birdwatching, tending my vegetable garden, gazing at stars through my telescope, or taking our grandchildren kayaking.

I’ve edited books and PhD theses; taught Creative, Academic and Business Writing; and spent years studying and teaching English Literature. Career highlights include: working at Warawara, The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Unit at Macquarie University; teaching high school English at Abbotsleigh; advising PhD Students in the Business School at UNSW@ADFA; and lecturing on literature and ethics in the Clemente program at the Australian Catholic University.

I’ve also had a lot of fun leading many workshops in grammar and creative writing.