Before turning to children’s books, I worked internationally in advertising as a designer and art director in Sydney, London and Singapore, and as a photographer and artist.

Today I live on a boat with my zany cat, surrounded by an ocean full of extraordinary creatures. I’m an avid diver, and one day I found myself wondering, “What if my cat could snorkel?”

That question grew into Kitteneer: a kitten with only two legs, who feels odd and like she doesn’t belong, until she discovers an underwater world full of wonderfully unusual friends. Every book in the series carries the same quiet message. All of us sometimes worry that something about us makes us less than everyone else. Through humour, adventure and remarkable ocean creatures, each story reminds children that the very things that make them feel different can become their greatest strengths. Every child has something that makes them feel like a Kitteneer.

I paint in acrylic on canvas, in what I call the world’s tiniest art studio. It’s definitely a challenge, but I wouldn’t swap it for all the grains of sand on all the beaches in the world. As a child, I would have loved these books. They would have made the world a little easier to understand.