Asphyxia is a circus performer turned puppeteer, and a writer. She is also deaf. Her name is unusual, but she is an unusual person! Asphyxia grew up in Melbourne surrounded by an unruly mob of brothers, sisters and cousins. As one of the eldest, she took it upon herself to direct everyone in elaborate games about witches, faeries, pixies, goblins and evil characters. She wrote her first book at twelve and entered it in the St Kilda Writers' Festival competition, where it won first prize. Since then, she has been a ballerina, a circus performer, a puppeteer, and a creator of her own theatrical productions, where she tells stories physically and with sign language. The Grimstones: Hatched and Mortimer Revealed have toured around Australia and overseas to great acclaim. The Grimstones books are based on these shows. For more information about the Grimstones, visit thegrimstones.com.