Q. Where are you based? What outlet do you write for? Who is your audience? What are your travel specialties? I'm the editor of Vacations & Travel magazine. What a gig! We cover all continents and styles of travel at V&T, and that's what I love about it. 

Q. What are your professional pet peeves? OK. As a former chief sub-editor, bad grammar from professional writers. I did an old-school three-year cadetship on the Herald-Sun newspaper in Melbourne and that included weekly grammar classes. I was lucky. With the 24-hour news cycle now, I believe that important skills are being lost.

Q. In your past professional life, you were … Ohhh! A thirst for media started for me at a young age. When I was 17, I was hired to work in the mail room of the Herald-Sun. I didn't know anyone there; I answered a job ad in the newspaper. Such was the day … Before that I worked in a shoe shop and in a bingo hall (serving snacks rather than calling, unfortunately). I left the Herald-Sun as a graded reporter to go travelling in 1995. I also worked as a senior sub-editor for marie claire magazine for nearly eight years.

Q. Where would you like to return to? Prague. I went there on my honeymoon in 1998 (I'm an Aussie who got married to a Brit in the UK) and it was winter. Think pretty snow dusting the most beautiful Gothic architecture you could ever imagine. Even though I'm not a fan of cold weather, I was spellbound. I would always recommend going to Prague in winter (and I'm still married to that guy). In saying that, I've spent a year and a half of my life travelling in India, including recently. I just keep being drawn back to that country.

Q. What's on your bucket list? I would love to see the Northern Lights – wrapped in furs while in a (humane) dog sled and sipping top-notch vodka, if you don't mind. I must make this happen.

Q. Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is … In 1995 I took off for Bangkok on my own at the tender age of 23 (a girlfriend dropped out because of a guy, who turned out to be a bugger, you know the story) and I didn't come home for five years. So much hilarity and trouble ensued, including an attempted kidnapping and a true love story. Too much for this column space.

Q. What advice would you give your younger professional self? Be yourself. I see so many people putting on a professional veneer (myself included, back in the day) but authenticity is where it is at. I think we all value and need that. Why be fake?

Q. What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on? Don't be a nugget.

Q. How best should people contact you? Email. https://travmedia.com/Client/MyProfile/346215