Jen McVeityJen McVeity's writing career began when she wrote her first poem at six and recited it to her parents. They thought it was wonderful. Parents are supposed to think these things.

As a kid, Jen went to over seven schools around Australia and totally enies she was asked to leave any of them. (Her father was in the army and they moved around lots.)

Completely addicted to snow skiing in her twenties, she shuttled back and forth between ski resorts in Austria and Australia, at one stage having seven winters in a row. She worked as a housemaid, instructor, even a cook (she can't cook) - so she could ski.

When her legs gave out, and sanity kicked in, she transformed into a Maths and English teacher. Thousands of kids now have a very warped sense of humour - and possibly small amounts of maths and writing skills - thanks to her.

At the same time she started freelancing for national newspapers and magazines. An excellent apprenticeship for learning to write tight and on time - and how to be incredibly..er polite when editors lost her articles three times in a row.

Jen met Gary her husband on a trampoline (he taught her a back 'sualt) and they have two children who are charming, clever and wonderful as well as brilliant at sport and doing their household chores. (Pick the lie in this sentence.)

A mad sportswoman, Jen plays State level beach volleyball three times a week. (She's currently her local Men's A-grade champion.) For relaxation the whole family water skis, snow skis and trains on a circus trapeze for a week every year. Oh, and they read books too.

Jen is a full time writer of over 20 books, and is known for her fast moving plots, dynamic dialogue and wry humour. She talks a lot like that too!

Dreamcatcher, the first book in the Green Guerrilla series tells how Tess first started the gang to help fight for the environment - and rebel against her politician father at the same time. Dreamcatcher is on the New York Library's Best Books list and in Australia it was short-listed for the Environment Award and won the Family Award.

Shadow Seeker the sequel, (which can be read first) took twenty months to write. The book follows Tess and the Green Guerrillas as they fight to stop a huge paper mill building in the town and pumping dioxin, one of the world's worst pollutants, into the air. Forced to work 'from the shadows' they create a unique campaign to get the townspeople on side, spreading information through the Internet and email and using not one scrap of paper. (A paperless war against a papermill. Get it?) Jen did over nine drafts and trashed 28,000 words before she got the plot right. She has now dubbed it 'The Book That Ate My Life'!

The head of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Jen is the first Australian ever elected to their international Board of Directors. Other members include Judy Blume, Jane Yolen, Tomie de Paola and Paula Danziger.

Jen travels a lot, writing whole chapters of novels in airports, presenting at conferences throughout Australia and the USA - and playing beach volleyball whenever and wherever she can.