Scot wasn't born reading and writing; in fact he left school in year eleven to undertake an apprenticeship in gardening with the local council. He has worked as a waiter, masseur, delivery truck driver, home dad, counsellor and musician.Scot's first fiction for young readers, One Dead Seagull, was published after he attended a writing camp and writing conferences with John Marsden. His many books since include Burning Eddy, shortlisted for a CBCA award and for the NSW Premiers literary award, and Gravity, shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award.Scot lives with his wife and one of three children (the others are grown-ups), a poodle and some chooks in the bush in Eastern Victoria. He spends half the year writing and half the year on the road talking to mostly young people about his books and the craft of writing.