Vanessa was a daydreaming child whose nose was permanently stuck in a book. Now, she is a keen writer of stories for children, and has been published by Upstart Press, Duck Creek Press, Oratia, Sunshine Books and Learning Media. She was a finalist in the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and has also been shortlisted for both the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon and Storylines Joy Cowley awards. She holds qualifications in Writing for Children, and Library and Information services. She currently works as a primary school librarian and volunteers on both the School Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (SLANZA) Tāmaki Makaurau committee, and Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust of New Zealand Hui committee. What is your writing day like? When and how do you create? Confession… I am an amazing procrastinator and timewaster! I am not a writer who is up early, knocking out thousands of words every day before breakfast. I work in a school, and I always ...