I was born in 1962 (which increasingly seems to be a very long time ago!) and I've lived in a few different places around Australia, mostly in New South Wales and Tasmania.

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I was a quiet, bookish child, and when I was seven I announced that I wanted to write novels - which was met with bemusement from my family along with mutterings about needing a 'real job' - actually it was way worse than that, but I'll save the saga as a topic for a blog.

 

I've spent more of my life than I ever imagined in the 'real job' teaching students of every age from high-school to university and running programs for at-risk young people. Currently I am a senior teacher at the local high school, now working part-time so I can focus on my writing and art.

I occasionally dived sideways into other work, including scraping by as a free-lance artist, running a business selling gourmet tea, admin and software management.

 

One way or another I survived about ten years at University in Philosophy, Literature and Fine Art. I have a transdisciplinary PhD in Medicine - but it's a theoretical degree - don't ask me for help with any medical issue that requires more than commonsense and a bandage. The PhD was done while single parenting, working full-time and building a house - which forced me to develop fearsome organisational skills, but is a level of busy I never want to be again.

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I now share my cosy (ie crowded) house with my partner, his daughter, her two pet rats and three elderly cats . . .

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Here are some photos of my gorgeous cats - where on earth did I get the idea for lygons?? My desk is a favourite spot. Sunny and Cloudy are guarding my brushes (they like chewing the ends of them), while the aptly named Mischief was found drinking my paint-brush water!

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When I travel I indulge in my other passion, which is infra-red landscape photography.

I have used some of my favourite images from around Australia, and the mountains of the Toroko National Park in Taiwan as backgrounds for this site.

You can see more of my photography at arlettephotography.com

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I hope you enjoy exploring the land of Fraith, that my characters touch your heart, that you come away with an insight you can carry out into the world, or at the very least, that you enjoy escaping here for a while.

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                  SUNNY                                                          CLOUDY                                                     MISCHIEF