About me

I was born in Groblersdal, South Africa to Louis and Ebeth Taljaard. The eldest of four children, I grew up in Kwa-Zulu Natal where I attended the local Catholic school, St Dominics Academy for Girls. This had a huge influence on me in my formative years. As an Afrikaans girl raised in a very English school and having to adapt to speaking English on a daily basis, I soon developed a deep love of language, compelled with an early need to communicate with people and the desire to express myself.

I attended university where I studied Journalism, Communication, English, Psychology and Classical Culture. I began my career with Naspers, at MooiVaal Media, where I first started working as a journalist and translator, became cartoonist, Chief English Sub-editor, and ultimately Production Editor of the English newspapers.

I broke away from the newspaper industry, as I felt the need to further explore another of my passions at the time, Middle Eastern dance, when I became the owner, instructor and performance choreographer of my own dance studio.

However my passion for language always remained on the forefront as I continued editing and writing on a freelance basis. Having recently completed a book of poetry, Bag of Skin, I’m currently working on various exciting new projects. These include Tankertown, the prelude to Chronicles of The 2nd Dark Age, a graphic novel in collaboration with artist and author Daniel Cornelissen and works of fiction: Inconsequential, Ears in the Attic and Bad Habits.

I am and will always be, fascinated by the human condition. In particular psychology, fighting stigmatisation and the cultivation of a greater understanding of mental disorders especially as they pertain to the creative community.