Author Di Morrissey grew up in Pittwater, Australia where she was influenced by the writers, musicians, artists and actors who lived there. Since she could not afford to go to university, she worked for the Australian Consolidated Press and trained as a journalist. She married an American diplomat and was posted in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Guyana. During this time, she wrote articles and broadcast in various countries. She published her first book, Heart of the Dreaming, in 1991. Since then, she has written fourteen novels making her Australia's most popular woman novelist. She believes the success of her novels is due to them being written about and for Australians by… dealing with such themes as heritage, love of family, Australian identity, protection of the environment, and reconciliation and awareness of Aboriginal culture. She is also a member of the National Centre for Breast Cancer's Advisory Board, a founding board member of Leadership Action Australia, a life member of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, and a Patron of Southern Cross University's Centre for Whale research. She has lived in Byron Bay for the last fifteen years.