Deborah Challinor

My blogs

About me

Gender Female
Industry Arts
Occupation Writer
Location Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Introduction I’m a professional writer and a historian. I was born in the Waikato town of Huntly, New Zealand, and attended Waikato University where I completed a Ph.D in New Zealand military history in 1998. All my historical novels have appeared in the top five of the New Zealand fiction bestseller list, six reaching number one. I also write non-fiction. I've also written an opinion column and feature articles for the Waikato Times, and for several years taught a summer paper for the History Department at Waikato University on researching and writing historical fiction. I currently live with my husband in Newcastle, Australia, where I’m researching and writing a series of novels for HarperCollins Australia, set in Sydney in the early 1830s about four convict girls transported from England. The first, Behind the Sun, was published last year. The second, Girl of Shadows, will be out later in 2013.
Interests Writing (obviously), history, sociology of 1960s and 1970s music, historical architecture, quality chocolate.
Favorite Movies Love Actually, The Green Mile, Nanny McPhee, Crash.
Favorite Music Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Metallica, blues music, Bakersfield country.
Favorite Books Anything by Pat Barker, Kate Atkinson, Kate Morton, Stephen King, Laurie Graham, Mark Billingham, Ray Bradbury.