Marele Day's four-book Claudia Valentine series won her a Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award for crime writing. Her bestselling literary novel, Lambs of God, was published to acclaim in Australia and overseas, and became a multi-award winning miniseries. Other novels include Mrs Cook: The Real and Imagined Life of the Captain's Wife, and The Sea Bed. Marele has more than twenty years' experience as a mentor and teacher of Creative Writing. She has served as judge for literary competitions including the Vogel Awards and NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She lives on Bundjalung country in northern New South Wales.