Authors

Hydie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from the University of Auckland. Children's Literature and New Zealand Literature were her favourite classes. She also has a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary). When not working or writing, Hydie loves to spend time with her family and friends and go for walks in nature. Hydie lives in Auckland with her husband and her dog Beau. She has one daughter and a stepson. As a child, Hydie spent a lot of time in the King Country of New Zealand on her aunty and uncle's sheep and beef farm. The days were spent out horseback riding on the farm with her cousin and in the early evenings she would read all the children's books that her aunty had. This was the beginning of Hydie's love for children's literature.

Jane Mahoney founded the Secret Gardens website (secretgardens.co.nz) to create a connected community of gardeners. It's a curated collection of gardens across New Zealand, each with a passionate, knowledgeable gardener who hosts guided visits and workshops in their specialist areas. Jane has been a slightly obsessive gardener for a long time and recently she and her partner have been taming and restoring their one-acre hillside property on Banks Peninsula.Sophie Bannan is Jane's daughter and the other half of Secret Gardens. Sophie is an artist, writer, teacher and a new mum wanting to contribute something productive to the world her daughter will grow up in. Sophie is an allotment holder at Sanctuary Mahi Whenua gardens in Auckland.

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Minnie Baragwanath has always had a love of language and the written word. Before her sight deteriorated during her teenage years as a result of a congenital sight condition, she read widely and always imagined she would become a writer one day. However, this dream became more distant as her sight worsened and her access to the literary world gradually disappeared from view. Despite struggling to see her books, Minnie persevered, majoring in English Literature during her Bachelor of Arts degree in her late teens, and then completing a Bachelor of Communications in her mid-20s. Today, 30 years on and thanks to the advent of new technology, including digital platforms and audio books, the literary world is now, finally, wide open to her. At the time of writing 'Blindingly Obvious' Minnie was living in Auckland New Zealand with her niece Caitlin and wee dog Floyd. However, shortly after her book was published in 2023, Minnie made the decision to move to Whanganui, a small progressive town in the North Island of New Zealand with a vibrant creative community. Minnie consciously made this move so she could continue her writing and also be creative in other fields. 'Blindingly Obvious' is her first book, and she hopes it will not be her last.

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Raised by an Irish mum and German dad in

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