Tell us something about where you come from:

I take pride in saying I grew up in snowdrifts, northern lights and a backyard full of cougars and bears. British Columbia is my heart, but Australia is my limbs, and without it I would never have touched or walked over so many soils.

List five words that describe you:

Quirky (rather than weird, or so I prefer), passionate, driven, spontaneous and storyteller.

Who are some people you admire?

Jane Goodall.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Everyday conversations and interactions between people. Whether I overhear a conversation in a shopping store, or on a tram home, people have a way of epitomizing life in a grander sense with the everyday. That, and trees.

How would you describe your work?

Some describe it as graceful but I'm not sure I like the generalization and the implied connotations. Most agree my work has a melancholy feel.

List your three favourite things:

writing/reading, art/horseback riding and mysteries. (sings) These are a few of my favourite things.

What do you do for fun?

Listen to music, read. When I'm in Canada I ride my horses.

What's the most essential item in your creative process?

Without a doubt, it would have to be reading. There's nothing more essential than a library.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I am finishing my first novel. I'm also starting a new novel, gathering bits, doing character sketches, etc. Which really is my favourite part of writing.

What's the next thing on the cards for you and your art? Any big plans?

I want to finish a second draft of my novel by February, and when I've done a million drafts I suppose I'll start slinging it around. Hopefully I'll get a scholarship to do a Masters of Creative Writing next year and start my second novel. Short stories never stop. And poetry pops up in the most inconvenient times.

Noise is...A great opportunity for youth to observe contemporaries' work and start building a repertoire.

If you could be anybody else, who would you be?

All the people I'd like to be are dead. Perhaps just myself. Although I would't have minded writing 'Carnivale' as a novel before it was made into the TV series, or Arrested Development. Or Dora Mar, but again - dead.

What has been the biggest challenge for you so far?

Being poor. I've seen friends fall off like frozen warts from their writing. Not many can hack being poor. I struggle, especially when I see clothes or books I want. Now I'm the 50th to reserve a copy of Banville's the Sea at the library!

How do you feel about being a SOYA finalist?

Fantastic. Since the level of competition is high, I did a half dance when I got the news. And I heard there's a dinner...something important to this improvised writer!

What will you do with your prizes if you win?

I'd like to spend some time in either (or heck, both) Eastern Europe or country France. Or Japan. I'd have to be boring and put the money towards my education. I'll be a forever student. Maybe a manuscript assessment. But I'm getting far too ahead of myself.