Occupation: I am a freelance travel writer. I was an English History and Drama teacher for a long time in Sydney, Australia.

Family: I am married to Darren Wagner, a photographer, and we have two boys. Austen is 10 years old and Trystan is 11 years old. Both are at Reed Intermediate this year.

Pets: We do not have any pets now. We promised the boys we would get a dog when we moved, but we have not come through on that yet.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We just had our first anniversary here in June. We moved here from Australia. Darren is from Ohio, and since we were living in a more rural area of Australia and wanted more opportunities for our boys, we decided to move to America. We did a lot of research, and Newtown came up. It met our criteria: it has history, it is near New York City and the shore, it has good schools, lots of trees, and a sense of community.

What do you most miss about Australia? If I could not get Vegemite at the UK Gourmet, I don’t know what I would do. And there are a few kinds of candy bars we cannot get here.

What do you like to do in your free time? I do a lot of reading and writing. I am part of a literature group at the Booth Library, and a writer’s group. I love to go to the theater. In the summer, I love to get to the beach. Every beach day we have been going to the shore, mostly to Silver Sands State Park on Charles Island, near Milford.

Do you have a favorite author? I love older English writers. I like Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, the Brontes, Henry James, and Edith Wharton.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? Two years ago we did an around the world trip with the boys. Paris would have to be my favorite place. Having an apartment there would be a dream come true. I love the architecture and the feel of Paris. It is so uncommercialized still and incredibly beautiful. Venice is another city I love, and Edinburgh, Scotland, and Cotswold, England.

What is the best thing about Newtown? That is such a hard question. There are so many “best” things. It is beautiful, especially Main Street, it has a fabulous library, so many things for children and families, and it is so close to other interesting places. We were overwhelmed by how friendly and welcoming people were when we moved here.

If you could spend a day with someone from history, whom would you choose? Possibly Jane Austen. Her work has lasted so long, and she lived a simple kind of life. It would be fascinating to let her know how successful she has become.

Do you have a personal philosophy? In any situation, if you live by being compassionate and kind, the world will be a better place. If people could put themselves in others’ shoes and empathize with others, I think that that would solve most of the problems in the world.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? Dark chocolate, definitely. I am still on the lookout for a really good dark chocolate in America. I used to buy Club chocolate in Australia, and American chocolate is very different.