A big reader from an early age, Phillipa particularly loved reading fantasy books and children's detective books like the Famous Five and Nancy Drew books. She moved on to Agatha Christie at eight years old and wrote her first mystery novella in Grade 5.
Phillipa went on to study psychology and started singing. After finishing a Bachelor of Behavioural Sciences at La Trobe University in 1991, Phillipa studied music full time and started writing songs, rediscovering her love of writing. A couple of years later she completed a postgraduate certificate in creative writing. From there it was one non-fiction book, one feature-length screenplay and then two unpublished young adult fantasy novels.
To support her passion for writing, Phillipa has been working as a corporate writer for nearly ten years. She's worked for a variety of companies such as AXA, BHP Billiton and Momentum Technologies Group. For these companies she writes flyers, brochures, web copy, newsletter articles, etc.