Maris Morton came to writing late, with her prize-winning debut novel, A Darker Music,published after she had accumulated experience in jobs ranging from cooking for shearers, teaching, the public service, arts administration, finally retiring as the director of a public art gallery in 1999.
Two decades of living in country Western Australia has provided the background for much of her writing.
At present, she lives among the rainforests of northern New South Wales, working on a new novel to the accompaniment of a symphony of birdsong.