Kelly Gardiner lives in an old cottage called Thelma in Melbourne, and in a beach shack on Waiheke Island for some of the year.

She works part-time for the State Library of Victoria, and on the other days she teaches writing at La Trobe University. In her spare time Kelly writes, reads, rides her bike, sits about staring at nothing, and does an awful lot of gardening and cooking. Not necessarily in that order.

She has a BA in Professional Writing and Editing, a Master of Arts (Literature) and a PhD in English (Creative Writing).

Her latest book is Goddess, a novel for adults based on the life of the remarkable French opera star and swordswoman, Julie d’Aubigny (also known as Mademoiselle de Maupin).