She enrolled in an Arts/Law degree at Melbourne University.[1] She finished her degrees in seven years, working part-time in various jobs. She settled into the job that was to become her main source of income for the next thirteen years: phone sales, administration assistant and occasional receptionist at Warner Music.
She started writing after many years at law school and at Warner. In 1993, her first short story, "Graham Remains", was published in the literary magazine Meanjin.[1] In 1996 she won second prize in the annual HQ short story competition.
After her first attempt at a novel, she met and fell in love with the man who is now her husband. She started to write fantasy books, the first of which became known as The Singer of All Songs. In 2001, she and her husband had a baby daughter, and The Singer of All Songs was accepted for publication only a few weeks later.