Danielle Clode lives on a bush block in the fire-prone foothills of the Kinglake Ranges of Victoria. As a psychologist and ecologist, she has long been fascinated and puzzled by the role fire plays in the Australian bush, and the way in which people interact with it. As someone who lives in a high fire risk area, she has a personal interest in understanding how to live safely in the Australian bush. Danielle's previous books have explored Australia's natural history from killer whales to megafauna and from museums to public land management. Voyages to the South Seas (The Miegunyah Press) won the 2007 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Non fiction. Danielle wrote A Future in Flames while holding the Redmond Barry Fellowship at Melbourne University and the State Library of Victoria and worked as a researcher in community safety for the Country Fire Authority during the Black Saturday bushfires.