For former zookeeper Tina Strachan, writing had long been a passion, but she never imagined she would ever see her own work published ‘in the wild’.
It would take a writing competition to reignite the spark and set her on track to telling stories that drew heavily from her own life and career. And now she is the author of her own Wilder Zoo middle-grade series published by HarperCollins – with the third book, Neeka and the Great Search out now.
Investing in her craft
After maternity leave with her second child, Tina found herself returning to writing. “I began writing seriously for the first time, and after quite a long break,” she explains.
Her turning point came when she entered a CYA (Children’s, Young Adult, and Adult Writers’ and Illustrators’ Conference) competition for aspiring authors – and won. “It was the first time I'd ever shared my work with anyone, but it was this competition win that made me think that maybe I was on the right track, and my writing was worth pursuing.”
At this point, Tina decided to invest more time and resources into her writing. “I felt I needed something more to help me formally learn my craft, and that's when I signed up for the Writing Children's Novels course,” she recalls. “Having the course coordinator and the other course participants provide feedback was exactly what I needed.”
And when it came to building up her own author profile, the Your Author Website course was a game changer.
“I figured if I wanted to be a published author I should act like a published author. That's when I did the Your Author Website course, which I found so incredibly helpful!,” she says. “At the time, I couldn't afford to hire someone to do the website for me so this course gave me everything I needed to create it myself, but also helped me to understand what a good author website needed and why.”
For Tina, these courses weren’t just educational, they were empowering. “They gave me the confidence to step up my writing and step out as a serious author.”
Getting published
The journey from manuscript to published book began with that initial competition win. “My prize was a phone conversation with Lisa Berryman from HarperCollins,” Tina shares.
“We began chatting about my experience with wildlife and how a story of a kid who lived in a zoo would be a winner with middle-grade children. So I wrote some sample chapters and a synopsis and sent that to Lisa. She loved it!”
Even after sending in the samples, Tina couldn’t help but keep writing. “I loved the Wilder Zoo characters and the world so much I figured I'd keep going with it,” she says. The result would be her debut Neeka and the Missing Key – and book one in a series.
“I loved revisiting my own memories of working in a zoo,” Tina shares. “At times I even closed my eyes while writing, so I could really focus on the smells and sounds and feelings of being so close to some of the most breathtaking animals on this planet. I really wanted to channel those real-life moments into the books.”
And how did she feel when the HarperCollins acquisitions team loved her story? “Numb! When I read the email … I was visibly shaking!” she says. “I couldn't focus on anything for the whole rest of the day! I still pinch myself when I think about it.”
Neeka and the Wilder Zoo series
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eeka and the Missing Key follows 11-year-old Neeka Wilder, who lives at Wilder Zoo where her mum is head vet. Alongside her best friends Rumi and Hudson, Neeka helps care for animals and create wildlife videos to raise conservation awareness.
“The Wilder Zoo series is inspired by my own adventures working and studying wildlife for over 20 years, including as a zookeeper, vet nurse and field researcher,” Tina says. “Each book is a standalone story about Neeka and her wild adventures at the zoo. Each book is full of fun, friendship, family and, of course, lots of animals!”
Book 2 in the Wilder Zoo series, Neeka and the Storm, was released in July 2025, with Book 3, Neeka and the Great Search, released in early 2026.
Writing becomes second nature
Now a published author, Tina balances her writing life with her work in the biodiversity field, where she creates and implements conservation plans to protect threatened species on the Gold Coast. Two days a week are reserved for writing and author admin, and she writes every single day – even if it’s just an hour.
She’s also the co-host of The Book Deal podcast, where she interviews authors and shares insights into the publishing world. “It’s been very educational for me also!” she says.
Combining her two loves has been a dream come true. “I wrote because I enjoyed the craft, and when new, exciting ideas strike I would physically tingle on the inside – I had to respond to those ideas and write them down,” she says. “Being published, and sharing my writing with others still feels like a dream. I can't quite believe it.”
And for anyone considering taking a course to support their writing, Tina has this advice: “AWC provides a very high-quality product. The courses are professionally run and the course instructors are experienced and knowledgeable. They have a course to suit everyone, no matter what stage of writing you're at or what you want to achieve, you'll find something to suit you.”
Inspired by Tina’s journey? You can follow her on Instagram and follow your own writing path with a course at the Australian Writers' Centre.
Courses taken at AWC:
