Kia ora!
Kia ora means, 'be healthy' in Māori, and is a common way to say hello in New Zealand. I love the idea of wishing someone to have life and to be well as a way of saying hello, so kia ora to you all!
Learning about cultures, peoples, and the beautiful world we live in is what makes being a storyteller and map maker so wonderful and what has captured my imagination for a long time.
Who am I?
I've been creating stories since I was a kid, dressing up and making bows and arrows out of sticks and string to play Robin Hood in the back yard. I grew up in a small town in New Zealand and we had a large reserve at the back of our property with a big pine tree at the bottom of a hill — perfect for hiding away. When my siblings didn't want to join in, I had my nose in a book, sometimes as many as ten a week.
I grew up with bush walks and books, giving me a love of nature and stories, though it wasn't until I picked up The Black Cauldron that the two worlds began to collide. Throughout the years, my interest in fantasy worlds extended into reality. It wasn't enough to read about them, I wanted to experience it more directly. I created my own code for writing messages to myself and drew maps of books and sketched characters and places and found a home amidst roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. I joined a medieval group and learned all about costumes, feasting, dancing, singing, and eventually trying my hand at sword-work. I learned so many skills, gained a wardrobe full of costumes, and even had a medieval themed wedding in a French gothic church.
Later, I turned my hand to animation to create my own 3D dragon and have spent several years teaching others the wonders of animation and storytelling. Living in New Zealand, I am only a few minutes walk from the bush and birdsong and a small patch of glow worms, so there's no shortage of inspiration for stories.
Now I think it's time to share some of that with you.