As she was growing up, Marion’s father used to call her Flibberty Gibbert because it looked as though she didn’t know how to stick at things. Marion preferred to think of herself as someone who simply had a lot of interests and found it difficult to chose just one or two. It’s the same for her today, and part of the reason why being a writer is the perfect occupation.
 As a child Marion was an avid reader, until a bookworm moved in around the corner and borrowed all Marion’s books without giving them back. The bookworm also used to eat all the Milo. It was around that time that Marion put the books aside for a while and started making things, hoping she could come up with an invention that would sweep the world like Liquid Paper or Velcro. Most of all she liked to design and sew her own loud outfits which, looking back, she thinks her mother encouraged her to wear to as boy-repellent.
For many years Marion dreamed of becoming a fashion designer but ended up studying science, alternative medicine and psychotherapy instead. She worked as a naturopath and counsellor and also ran her own whole-food cooking school.
Quite by accident she came across a writing course at RMIT and hasn’t looked back. She is currently at Melbourne Uni doing a Masters in Creative Writing so slowly that she might possibly never finish.
Sunny Side Up is Marion’s first novel and was published in January 2008 by Allen and Unwin. It has also sold in the United Kingdom and North America. Marion is currently working on a sequel, which will be published in 2009.
Marion is available for primary school visits where she runs workshops in creative writing for children. With reference to Sunny Side Up, Marion facilitates children in learning to construct their own original characters and inspires rich writing exercises and games.
Meanwhile, amid her writing, Marion is still working on coming up with an invention that could sweep the world, like Liquid Paper or Velcro.
A book extract, reviews by teachers, and further information on Sunny Side Up is available from Allen & Unwin.
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