“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

~ Dr. Seuss

About Shara …

Shara Curlett grew up with a love of story. Her mum read to her constantly, and her dad would make up stories every night. Mostly, his stories involved a space-exploring captain and his pet robot-dog, who travelled to distant planets filled with cheese and other such nonsense, and would always end with the cliffhanger of, ‘You’ll have to wait until tomorrow night to find out what happens.’

From the age of ten, Shara could be found writing two-hundred-page ‘novels’ on refill pads, which would end when the refill pad finished (whether there was a resolution or not).

Shara spent much of her career in the business-improvement space, eventually owning and running her own business. It wasn’t until a challenging year in 2016 that she began writing again to help her through it. For the first time in her life, she completed two 90,000-word novels and decided to pursue writing seriously.

Shara’s favourite genre is, and always will be, fantasy. And when her children ask a ‘how’ question, her typical answer is, ‘magic’, which is both excellent for deflecting her knowledge on any given topic, and problematic for her science-minded husband.

Shara lives on the Hibiscus Coast in Auckland, with her husband, two children and two dogs. She is passionate about inspiring creativity and imagination in children, believing a good foundation of creativity can help with mental health later in life.

Her debut middle-grade novel will be published in 2025 with Scholastic Australia.

With a school and university-level background in art and design, Shara is also currently practicing to become an illustrator. To see some of Shara’s illustrations, click here.

Interesting stuff for the kids …

Let’s face it. If you’re a kid, all you want to know about me is the important stuff. So, here it is:

My favourite food? Ice cream. And salad.
(And if you put them together it creates an ice cream salad, which is an oxymoron).

My favourite drink is water. (Boring, I know.)

My favourite book? I can’t possibly decide. I love books. Particularly, children’s books. Our house is overflowing from op shop finds and treasured picks, and it’s wonderful.

My favourite story will always be The Neverending one.

Do you play any instruments? I play the piano quite well, and can hold a decent tune. I also love the guitar. Unfortunately, I do not play that well at all.

I LOVE glow stick dance parties. These are a regular favourite in our household.

I prefer dogs over cats. I don’t necessarily think cats are evil, but they do make me sneeze.
Fun fact: where I grew up, we had five cats at one point (one stray decided to adopt us after I fed it). I sneezed, a lot.

I live on the Hibiscus Coast, in Auckland, NZ with my husband, two children (ages 6 and 4), and two dogs (ages 11 and 10).
One of my dogs loves food (labrador cross). The other loves balls (collie cross). They don’t argue as much as my children.

I’ve been writing stories my entire life, but becoming an author was something I decided in 2016.

My favourite thing to do is spend time with my little team. And if we can combine family time with the beach, then it’s absolute bliss.

I love swimming, and anything to do with water. I also love being in nature.
Fun fact: I used to own a business called, Trees Please, where we sent out baby trees as gifts!

For my very first job, I worked in an ice cream store when I was 15. Yes. It’s the dream. Then, I became a waitress, a hostess, and a bartender.
Following that, other jobs included being a DJ, a group fitness instructor, and a personal trainer.

My ideas for my books come from anything and everything. A word, or an image, might spark an entire story.
I keep a notepad for all of my story ideas, and then I let my mind wander. When a story appears, I write it down!

Is there anything else you’d like to know? Feel free to send me an email and I may include it on my Q&A page!

Affiliations

  • Member of the NZSA

    The New Zealand Society of Authors - Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ) - is a not-for-profit incorporated society and registered charitable entity that supports the interests of writers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

  • Member of SCBWI

    SCBWI connects writers and illustrators to the global children’s book community, providing access to resources, special events, conferences, awards and grants, and networking opportunities, alongside support, guidance, and community.

  • Member of Friends of Storylines

    Member of Friends of Storylines Ngā Pou o te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa. The community that supports and celebrates New Zealand children’s writers and illustrators, the development of a strong literary tradition, and a love of literature.