Jocelyn Harewood lives in Melbourne, and writes Young Adult fiction based on the activities of young people in her neighbourhood. Her novels include Voices in the Wash-house, which was runner-up for a Premier's Literary Award, Movement on the Sofa, Stepping on Mussels, Spiked and other books which make black humour from the problems faced by young people, both in the past and today. Worms in the Night, for example, is a tale of a teenager whose boyfriend has dyslexia. Spiked is a black tale of a lad with food allergies and his time in youth detention. Harewood was asked to write the novels for Geoffrey Wright's grunge trilogy: Romper Stomper, Metal Skin and Lover Boy. These, too, explore the crazy lives some young people lead, the violence, the passions and the disasters that beset them. From there, she joined Lonely Planet, editing travel guides, then writing them. Her favourite place is Vanuatu, a country of islands, deep blue holes, volcanoes, mountains, everything you could need. And the youth on these islands are passionate. Back home, she enjoys her backyard swimming pool, her English Springer Spaniel and her IT-brilliant husband.
