Background
Born in Tauranga, she grew up there and then in Hawke"s Bay.
Born in Tauranga, she grew up there and then in Hawke"s Bay.
University of Otago.
Symon calls herself "the product of a life-long love affair with books", having developed a strong love of reading at an early age. She has said her first books obsession was with the Berenstain Bears series of children"s books – before she moved on to "camping out at the library" and a steady diet of Rosemary Sutcliff and TH White. The latter"s The Sword in the Stone led her to a love of all things Camelot, a fascination with medieval times, and even choosing fencing as her sport.
After high school, Symon headed south to study pharmacy at the University of Otago in Dunedin.
She practised as a pharmacist in the community and at the local hospice until 1999. She returned to Dunedin in 2005 before her first novel was published.
Symon is a full-time mother and writer, and also produces and hosts a monthly books-focused radio show "Write On" on Toroa (lieutenant airs live on the second Wednesday of each month on Hills Department of Administration and Management Community 1575 kHz from noon to 1:00pm), serves as the Chair of the Otago Southland Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, and does monthly book reviews for Dunedin Diary on Channel 9 Television. Symon"s hosts Write On, the radio show of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, broadcast on Toroa 1575 kHz Department of Administration and Management. 2007: Overkill 2008: The Ringmaster 2009: Containment 2011: Bound 2012: The Faceless.