About
Hi, I'm Penny.
I live in western Sydney and I write. Children's books, mostly.
I wrote my first book when I was seven. I remember the experience vividly. Both the fascination and sense of responsibility I felt in writing for an audience captured me.
As a teen I wrote a form of poetry I called 'thinks'. I still have some of them. Others I burned on the path to adult-hood. A good thing, perhaps.
At the end of high school I searched the university guides for potential career options, lingered longingly over creative writing courses and finally enrolled in a primary teaching degree. It was a decision, I'll admit, I've never regretted.
But my passion has always been for sharing my love of stories and writing with others, especially with children. This is possibly because I recall my own childhood so clearly, and remember how important dreaming and imagination were to me. These are things no one can bottle and I get to use them every day when I sit down to write.
I live in western Sydney and I write. Children's books, mostly.
I wrote my first book when I was seven. I remember the experience vividly. Both the fascination and sense of responsibility I felt in writing for an audience captured me.
As a teen I wrote a form of poetry I called 'thinks'. I still have some of them. Others I burned on the path to adult-hood. A good thing, perhaps.
At the end of high school I searched the university guides for potential career options, lingered longingly over creative writing courses and finally enrolled in a primary teaching degree. It was a decision, I'll admit, I've never regretted.
But my passion has always been for sharing my love of stories and writing with others, especially with children. This is possibly because I recall my own childhood so clearly, and remember how important dreaming and imagination were to me. These are things no one can bottle and I get to use them every day when I sit down to write.
How many books have you written?
Many more than I could count. But not everything I write ends up as a published book.
As Penny Jaye I've had three books published so far: two picture books and a YA novel. I've also contributed short stories to YA anthologies, Crossed Spaces and Dust Makers. For the latter project worked as one of the editors.
Writing as Penny Reeve and as Ella Shine (a pen name I share with co-author Cecily Anne Paterson) I have an additional 20 books published, with more scheduled for publication soon.
What type of books do you write?
I write about the things I care about. Whether it's a YA novel, a short story or a picture book, I write for the heart of the story and characters. This means that I often locate my stories in challenging topic areas. But even in the toughest of settings, I write to find beauty, hope, strength and love.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a lot of different places. I was born in Victoria, started school at Gulawinku, Northern Territory and then my family moved to Dhaka, Bangladesh, for two years. After that, I lived in Arnhem Land (NT), Papua New Guinea and Nepal.
Now I'm based in the Blue Mountains of western Sydney, Australia. (But when exactly does 'growing up' end?)
Did you ever end up studying creative writing?
Yes, I did.
At various times since I first decided to write for publication I've completed correspondence writing courses, attended writing conferences, participated in classes with genre experts and read as much as I can about the craft. And a few years ago I finally decided to study writing at university. I now have a Master of Arts in writing and literature (through Deakin University) and am currently a PhD candidate researching spiritual questioning in YA fiction.