Justine first came to the writing game in 2010, when she started NorthTec’s Applied Writing Diploma Level 5. This was followed by Levels 6 & 7. In 2012 her first picture book, Tea With Miss Tilly, was published by HarperCollins NZ Ltd. The manuscript for this picture book was completed on one of the Level 5 papers. Since then she has had a children’s reader, All Dressed Up, published by Wendy Pye Publishing Ltd (2017), and has self-published an eBook on KDP of her and her partner’s poetry titled Forming a Picture of You. She has also previously published a few short fiction and nonfiction stories targeting both adults and children on her blog The Long and the Blog of It, by Justine. This blog has taken a semi-permanent hiatus while she decides the direction to take these stories. In her spare time she continue to write mainly children’s picture books and young adult fantasy fiction, of which Justine is a huge fan.
In 2015 Justine started part-time a BA majoring in Creative Writing through Massey University and completed her degree in 2022. She plans to study for a Master of Creative Writing at a later date.
For many years, Justine has been a member of the Northland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. She first joined the NZSA in 2010 because of the help they offered with understanding publishing contracts, but has stayed for the networking and for the friendships she’s made.
Justine calls Northland, New Zealand, home, with a menagerie of animals and family members coming and going.
