Q. Where are you based? Sydney's home base these days, though my passports get regular workouts. I'm originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but I've called Australia home for over a decade.

Q. What outlet do you write for? Who is your audience? What are your travel specialties? I write for titles like BBC Travel, Lonely Planet, The Guardian, Explore, Escape, The New Zealand Herald, Gourmet Traveller, and International Traveller. My audience? Curious, engaged travellers who want a good story, not just a list of what to do and where to eat. I lean into character-driven narratives, cultural quirks, sensory storytelling and offbeat luxury. My readers get narrative with texture and a few surprises thrown in. If there's an unexpected angle or a clever line, I'm chasing it. 

Q. What are your professional pet peeves? When writing forgets the wonder. Travel is deeply human. If there's no vulnerability, no humour, no delight, then what are we really saying? I want stories with grit, charm, awkward moments, and small revelations.

Q. In your past professional life, you were … In mental health. I worked in a private inpatrient psychiatric hospital as a Behavior Specialist, and then transitioned into Special Education. 

Q. Where would you like to return to? South Africa, Spain, Iceland

Q. What's on your bucket list? It's a long list; I'll give y'all the abridged version. I want more of Australia and New Zealand. Egypt's been calling me for years, and I'd love to meet the blue-footed boobies of Galapagos. Alaska's on the list for its wild, dramatic beauty, and I'm greedy enough to want both the Arctic and Antarctica. Throw in snowy Lapland's dog mushing and reindeer spotting and Morocco's colour and chaos, and well, that's a good start. 

Q. Where do you travel for fun? Off-duty, I trade boarding passes for books and escape to the mountains. I want a cosy cabin, a stack of paperbacks, a few nerdy (or murdery) documentaries on the iPad, and no agenda beyond watching the light change. That's heaven to me. I'll drink coffee till noon when I switch my jammies for sweatpants and I might not leave the house all day. It's high-functioning hibernation. Afterward, my motor is purring like a Maserati  and I'm ready to roll.

Q. Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is... There have been a few, but I try to just roll with it! I've been in 'hospital' (would not recommend) for the dreaded Bali-belly, gotten questionable stitches in Phuket when I tore open my big toe on some coral and spent the night in a ski-lodge in Utah when an avalanche threatened. It's an adventure, always.

Q. What advice would you give your younger professional self? You don't have to know everything, be brave enough to ask. You're allowed to pivot; it's called evolution. Don't waste your time trying to sound like someone else.

Q. What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on? Remember, talent absolutely matters, but being a decent human will take you further. Be kind, be reliable. The world's full of ego and noise, but generosity and professionalism leave a lasting impression.

Q. How best should people contact you? I'm an email or texting kind of gal. WhatsApp works too.