Janet J. Mills lives with her two- and four-footed family in Adelaide, South Australia. They include Michael, her husband; Roobecca, Roobertha, Roodolf (a mob of kangaroos) and Isabella, their cat. Possums have taken refuge in the trees and also play havoc in the garden which they share with the ’roos.

Her inspiration comes from the Xhosa people in the Eastern and Western Cape whom she encountered whilst she was growing up and whilst doing research at the University of Cape Town; as well as from those who mentored her research on the border of Swaziland and Mozambique; the Arrernte and Ngarrindjeri in the Northern Territory and South Australia – and connections with Sundanese mentors in West Java.

When she was growing up, she experienced living alongside domestic animals, farm animals and wild creatures, such as a variety of bucks, baboons, monkeys, birds and reptiles, and learned the ‘magic’ of transformation by watching tadpoles and learning how silk worms evolve into moths that spin webs of silk.

From all her own adventures, sailing, climbing and bush walking, she learned about the interdependency of people and nature. As a child, she read Travels in Southern Africa by her great great-grandfather and was fascinated by his vivid accounts of the countryside people, plants and animals and his early efforts to promote freedom of the press and social justice.