Dr Michelle Johnston grew up in the southern suburbs of Perth, where she could just see the outline of the Perth Hills in the distance.
Life was comfortable in Rossmoyne, but it didn't satisfy Michelle's curiosity about life, God and humanity, and so she wondered whether she could find answers to her never-ending questions beyond those hills.
At 16 years old, she finally got that chance when she went on a high school exchange to Germany. That formative year opened Michelle's eyes to how big the world really is, and how big her life could be.
She came back to Australia, became an emergency doctor and then a writer.
Michelle's writing has pulled her into fascinating, otherworldly places like the doomed mining town of Wittenoom and the labyrinthine basements of ancient hospitals.
Most recently, Michelle found herself in Dagestan, the southern most region of Russia, where mountains claw at the sky and time stands still.
It's a place few people have heard of and even fewer have been to.
Further information
Michelle's third novel will be published by HarperCollins.
Her first novel, Dustfall, was published in 2018 by UWA Publishing and her second book, Tiny Uncertain Miracles, was published by HarperCollins.
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Michelle Johnston is an emergency physician and a writer.