Renée (Ngati Kahungunu/Scot) was born grumpy and nothing has changed. She is an avid reader, enjoys cooking and gardening. Renée always thought she would die at 42 but for some reason this didn’t happen. She considers herself very lucky to still have most of her marbles and credits reading, writing, walking and teaching, for this. Renée has written 8 novels and eighteen plays among which is the Wednesday To Come trilogy. Her memoir These Two Hands was published by Makaro Press in 2017. Her latest work is a crime novel, The Wild Card, publication late October 2019. Photo credit Claudia Latisnere