Environmental health officer by day and writer by night, I'm an Italian dog lover based in New Zealand. I'm passionate about animals and have a background in ecology/marine biology, but my first love is writing. I’ve authored middle-grade animal stories under my birth name, Bianca Staines, and they've won Purple Dragonfly Awards in 2017 and 2018, respectively. My books, The Tale of Prince and The Tale of Tyriii, can be found on Amazon under The Taleweavers' Adventures series.

I grew up reading Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Chronicles of Narnia, Earthsea, Discworld, and pretty much everything, fantasy, and sci-fi. All I wanted to do as a kid was tell stories - I still do. My younger brother, Marco, was my original reader. Even now, he calls dibs on those terrible first drafts you're not meant to show anyone, and it's pretty amazing how he brings my characters to life in these webcomics.

When it comes to creating relatable characters that children can connect with, I think about what I enjoyed as a kid. Of course, it was great to see champions in shining armor vanquish the fire-breathing dragon that was terrorizing the realm, but the characters that stayed with me the most were the grey ones. Prince is a scheming villain turned unlikely hero. Bennie is a happy-go-lucky stray with a dark past in the fighting rings. In my mind, writers have to be keen observers of the world. It's essential to take a long, hard look around - to see what drives people, what they've lived, and what made them today. Writing is taking a peek at what it's like to be someone else. It's a process of self-discovery. Sometimes you find parts of yourself you never even knew existed.

As a writer, you have to grow a thick skin. Rejection is part of the job, and it was a really important lesson for me to realize this: once you write a story, it isn't just yours anymore. It's the readers' too. Some people will really vibe with your book. Some people won't. That's no one's fault. The important thing is to write because you love it. Not because you're planning on making money from it or hinging your sense of self-worth on your book's success or lack thereof. It took me a long time to learn and to be light about my writing. When I did, it became a lot more fun.

The hardest thing to stick to is the writing routine! When I'm in the middle of a project, I aim for 1000 words a day, but it's more realistic to go for the "nifty 350". Even if it's going to be garbage, write 350 words. There are always parts of a draft that are tougher to write than others. With the nifty 350, you will eventually navigate those hurdles and get to the juicy bits. What ultimately keeps me motivated and productive is the way I feel when I don't write. To paraphrase best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert, "possessing a creative mind is something like having a border collie for a pet: it needs to work, or else it will cause you an outrageous amount of trouble." In essence, give your mind a job to do or else it'll eat the couch.

I think ensuring stories resonate with children of all ages and backgrounds is about saying something that matters. There is a universal quality to good storytelling. I've filed away several half-drafted projects because there was little point to them. True, the characters were enjoyable, and the story was decent, but I wasn't saying anything. In The Tale of Prince, the plot revolves around the conflict between a pedigree pooch, Prince, and his unsophisticated but likable rival, Bennie. Prince is awful. He bullies Bennie, calls her names, and wants her gone. Yet, when she goes missing, Prince's young owner, Timmy, goes quiet again. In an uncharacteristically noble gesture, Prince sets off to find her. For him, this isn't just a quest to bring Bennie back but a journey of self-discovery - from an arrogant, selfish villain to a mature, introspective hero. And, on the way, Prince might just find the wolf that lives inside every dog. People aren't so different from our animal heroes. Every one of us has something wonderfully unique to offer. No exceptions.